Shadow of Beacon
by Canadian Admiral
Summary: Ozpin wasn't the only person sent by the Gods. Whilst the God of Light chose to resurrect Ozma, his Brother chose a much different approach. Awakening in modern day Remnant, Perseus must navigate this new world, while still fighting to fulfill the purpose his Father and Uncle placed him there to do: to destroy Salem. Slight Crossover/Heavy AU
1. Chapter 1

**Hello to everyone! **

**I'm sure many people are wondering why I chose to start a second story (this one), as opposed to continuing my other series, Remnants Of the Sea? The answer to this lies in one main reason: I've gotten tired of writing RotS. Now, calm down; I'm not going to drop the story, nor will I end it abruptly without sense. It is just that I have been writing it for around a year and a half, and I'm struggling to get through it. This is also another reason for why I made it a series of stories, and not one continuous book. This way, it will give me a chance to delve into a different world, and play around with other concepts that I've written off in RotS. I will eventually start Book Two of RotS, but it won't be for some time. I just don't want to keep working on it, lose passion in the story all together, and end up dropping it. I've seen many stories ending up being abandoned/up for adoption because the writer just got burned out. I'm going to do what I can so that that doesn't happen. **

**If you have any comments on my decision, or want to discuss it, feel free to either leave a review, or PM me. I will respond to all PMs, in time. **

**Now, without anymore rambling and excuses, please enjoy my new story, Shadow of Beacon!**

"**Percy" means speech**

'**Jackson' means thought**

_***RWBY* **_**means telepathy/flashback**

A whip cracked through the air, followed by a pained scream from a young man. "Keep moving, animals!" A fat man shouted, standing on a small platform overlooking everyone around him. The workers glared at him, with another young man helping up his injured friends. They shuffled away into the crowd, along the frozen ground.

The man holding the whip watched them leave, sending glares at anyone who stared at him longer than a few seconds. His attention was drawn away from the crowds when someone approached him, wearing the same pure, snow-white uniform as himself. The man held two steaming cups in his hands.

As he made his way beside the man on the platform, he extended his arm outwards, offering one of the cups to the larger man. "Here, drink up." The smaller man said, holding his own cup close to himself, loving the warmth it gave off. "I hate this damn place. I hoped that I would be stationed _anywhere_ other than here." He said, taking a sip of his steaming drink. "Too damn cold." He muttered, glancing at the sky.

As if mocking him, small, white tufts of snow began to flutter to the ground, accompanied by a frigid wind that cut through their uniforms. "Eh, you'll get used to it eventually, rookie." The larger man said. As the two stood there, a tanned, middle aged woman walked passed, a small pair of pink mouse ears poking out of her dark hair. The woman stared at them, or rather, the drinks they held in their hands, shivering at a particular strong gust of wind. Her stare caught the ire of the fat man, however. "What are you looking at, you rat? Get back to work!" he yelled, cracking his whip right over her head, causing the woman to flinch and grasp her ears in pain at the loud noise, rushing away.

The younger man sent a harsh look at his older colleague. "You shouldn't do that." He muttered, though making sure he was heard. "They're just cold. It's not like we give them the best uniforms for this weather.". The snow continued to fall, covering the ground of the courtyard in a white blanket.

The bigger man just scowled, wrapping his whip back up. "Don't tell me you actually feel _bad_ for these animals, do you?" He scoffed, cuffing the younger man in the back of the head with his hand.

"I'm saying that the least we could do is give them the same protection as our human workers!" The young man growled, trying to keep his tone in check.

"Do you have any idea how much that would cost the company? They can do whatever they want, as long as it doesn't come out of my paycheque." The man said gruffly, sending a glare at several passing workers.

The younger man just shook his head in slight disgust. "Whatever, man. The boss wanted to talk to you." He responded. The larger man grunted, climbing down from his platform. Before he left, he went to hand his whip to the younger man, only for his offer to be denied. "I have all the self defence I need." The young man simply said, patting his small pistol holster clipped on his belt.

The large man scowled, rolling his eyes. That kid was too soft for this line of work. It was bad enough with that White Fang group rallying for better conditions. The last thing they needed was sympathizers in the company. Glancing back at the younger man, he saw him offering his still warm coffee to a shivering older man, a white tail flicking near his feet. Walking over to the main office building overlooking the mining compound, the large man quickly hobbled inside, shutting the door behind him hastily.

Rubbing his hands in an effort to warm them, he stomped some snow off his boots before making his way up to the main office. He paused outside the door, staring at the frosted glass with a giant, white snowflake crest on it. Knocking lightly, he opened the door, poking his head in. "Sir? I was told you wished to see me?" He asked warily, watching the dark-haired man typing away at the computer on his desk.

The man didn't even flinch, nor did he look his way. "Yes, come in and have a seat, Mr. Edwards." The business man replied, still typing. The now named Mr. Edwards waddled over to the desk, and sat in one of the two seats of in front of the desk. He didn't say anything, choosing to finish what he was writing, leaving Edwards in silence.

Edwards looked around the office. It was nice, for what was available in the middle of nowhere. The computer and desk were modern, if a little worn, and the carpet was still fairly clean. His head snapped back to look at his boss at the mention of his name. "Hm? Yes?" Edwards asked, trying to act like he had been paying attention.

Sighing, he placed his hand on his head, massaging his forehead. "Do try to pay attention, Murphy?" He asked. Upon receiving a head nod, he continued. "Good. Now, as you might know, our quarry hasn't been producing enough Dust, and we can't afford to hire anymore workers." He started, hoping Edwards was following along.

"Yes, sir. I am aware. I've tried to… motivate them to work harder as best I could, but some of those animals just won't listen." Edwards said, trying to paint himself in the best possible light to his boss.

"Cut the Boy Scout stuff, Murphy. I know that you whip them for no real reason." He responded, sitting back in his chair.

Edwards was beginning to sweat, his hands becoming clammy. "Now sir, I…" Edwards began before he was cut off.

"Which is why I have a little "special job" for you." His boss said, ignoring his pleas as if he hadn't spoken at all. "I said that we couldn't afford to _hire_ any new workers, so I had some of our more… aggressive security members go out to the local faunus village and round up some of the fitter ones." He said, standing from his desk. Edwards followed the man with his head as his boss walked over to the window, staring out and down at the workers below. "They will be arriving in about an hour at the South Gate. I want you there when they get here, to help keep things peaceful."

Edwards looked slightly hesitant. "But sir, won't they just head back to their village? And what if word gets out that we enslaved a local populous?" Edwards questioned.

"You leave the cover up to me, Edwards." His boss said, moving back to his desk and sitting in his chair. "All I want you to do is to make sure that they won't have anywhere else to go, should they escape. The security guards that rounded them up will keep you safe as you mark them."

Edwards still looked hesitant. Not because he would be branding the faunus. They were animals, why should he care about them? No, he was more worried about what would happen to his career should word get out about what he's about to do. He slowly got to his feet. "Yes, sir." He simply said before walking out of his office, closing the door to the sound of his boss continuing to type away at his computer.

**-Time Skip-**

Edwards stood at the South Gate, listening to the howling of the wind outside. He had watched as the trucks had come rolling back to the compound, and he could now hear them just outside. 'I wonder how many they brought?' Edwards thought to himself, shivering as the door to the warehouse he stood in opened, letting in the harsh, cold air. Loud beeping filled the air as one of the trucks backed into the warehouse, escorted by about two dozen security officers, each holding a rifle and a pistol in their holsters. Once the truck was parked in place, the security climbed onto a ledge, overlooking the loading bay area.

One officer walked up to the back of the truck, unlocking the door, and sliding it up. Inside was about thirty faunus, aged anywhere from thirteen to forty. They were huddled together in small groups, trying to stay as warm as possible in the uninsulated cargo truck. "right, animals. Your new life is about to begin!" The security officer shouted, grabbing his rifle from its sling on his back. "Now get out!". None of them moved, instead choosing to glare at him. Growling in frustration, the security officer levelled his rifle at the frightened faunus, causing them to jump back. "I said, get out! Now!"

They complied this time, slowly shuffling out of the truck, trying to stay in their groups, only to be shoved away from one another. "Men on one side, women on the other!" Another officer called out standing near the end of the loading area, where the bay sloped upwards to become level with the warehouse floor. The faunus did eventually separate, though only due to the threat of violence from the security. "Alright, women first. Men, stay right where you are, unless you want to be riddled with holes." The same officer shouted.

The line of female faunus slowly walked forwards, shuffling up towards where Edwards stood, right near a burning metal brazier. A security officer grabbed the first lady in line by the arm, pulling her along up to Edwards. "Roll up your sleeve." Edwards commanded, hefting the 'S.D.C.' Brand in a gloved hand.

The lady did so, walking up to him and presenting her arm. Edwards grabbed her arm, holding it firmly in place, staring at her, before he looked down. Pressing the searing hot brand against her arm, Edwards heard her skin begin to cook and burn, smelling awful. The woman had a pained grimace, but continued to stare him in the eye.

Placing the brand back into the brazier, he nodded to one of the security officers, who grabbed her and escorted her away. The next woman in line was not so brave, struggling and shouting to be let go. Two security officers had to grab her by the arms and hold her down, pulling up her shirt to expose her back to Edwards.

He did as he was supposed to, pressing the brand against her smooth back. She screamed in pain, her struggling growing ever weaker as the brand seemed to sap the strength from her. She could barely stand afterwards, having to be dragged away by the two security.

This continued for several minutes; branding, screaming, shouting, dragging. Edwards vaguely acknowledged the sound of multiple people running passed the warehouse, running in the direction of the main mine entrance. Edwards dismissed it. 'Probably just a Grimm got in the courtyard and is running around, terrorizing the workers.' He thought, pushing it out of his mind. When he was approaching the end of the female line, he saw something out of place, compared to the other faunus. It was a smaller girl, barely older than eight or nine, holding a small cat plushie. Her hair was pitch black, and her yellow eyes seemed to pierce right through him. She almost reminded him of his daughter back in Atlas, except this girl was a bit more tanned, and had black cat ears. As the line in front of her dwindled, her eye began to cloud with tears, scared of what they would do to her.

"Sorry kid." Edwards mumbled, as she was escorted up. Grabbing hold of her small arm, he lifted her sleeve, showing her smooth, tanned skin. She was crying by this point, not having the mind to beg for mercy, she was so scared. Grabbing his brand, he went to press it against her skin, when she vanished in a shadow. Startled, he looked around, watching as two other equally surprised security officers picked the girl up off the ground where she had appeared several feet away, dragging her back.

By this point she was wailing, tears streaming down her cheeks, and snot running down her nose, fairly long hair falling in front of her face. Before he could prepare to brand her arm, the sounds of fighting broke out by the other group of faunus; the males. Edwards watched as a red-haired teen, approximately twelve or thirteen, tried to fight towards him, being stopped by several security. The teen fought like the beast he was, thrash, kicking, punching; anything he could do to get to Edwards, his sky-blue eyes burning with hate.

"You can't do this! We're free people, and she's just a little girl!" He shouted, gnashing at the security trying to pin him down, shouting curses at them. Clubbing the security guard in the head, the faunus unclipped the holster at the man's waist, cocking the pistol. Firing several shots into the guard's chest, he pushed the man off of him, trying to shoot the other guards. His rampage was quickly halted when another guard rushed forwards, slamming the stock of his rifle against the teen's head, knocking him back to the ground.

Kicking the pistol away, the guards placed a pair of handcuffs on the teen before dragging him up to Edwards, having completely forgot the little girl, who was now cowering in the arms of the last woman in the line. The man who had been shot was lifted up, being dragged away to the infirmary, his armour managing to block most of the shots. Edwards breathed a sigh of relief, before looking down at the teen, who was blearily look at Edwards' feet, still dazed from the hit to his head. The guard who had knocked him in the head jerked the teen's head back to look up at Edwards, holding the teen by one of two black horns that sprouted from his blood-red hair. "Alright, Murphy." The guard said angrily. "I want you to teach this punk a lesson he'll remember for the rest of his life! Brand him right across the face!".

Edwards did as was said, grabbing the brand, he levelled it with his face, seeing the red glow of the hot metal reflect in the boy's eyes. The boy kept glaring up at him, but repeatedly glanced at the brand as it neared the side of his face. Moments before Edwards pressed the brand to the boy's face, the entire warehouse shook, the windows shattering, and the lights flickering before going out completely. Moments later the emergency lights bathed the room in a red glow. "What's going on?" One of the guards asked, to no reply.

The sounds of shouting and running was heard outside, causing the security officer standing by the door to open it, looking out at what was happening. "You there!" What's going on?" He shouted gruffly to one of the guards running by.

"Something's in the mine! They found something, and it started attacking everyone! The boss ordered all available units to assist." The guard shouted back, hefting his rifle, making sure it was primed.

"Grimm?" The officer at the door asked, only to receive a panicked shrug before the guard ran off to the main entrance of the mine. "Dammit." He muttered, turning to the other security officers still in the warehouse. "Alright, put them back in the truck for now! Half a dozen of you will stay here, and the rest will go and help out in the mine.".

Edwards put his brand back into the brazier, seeing the teen he was about to scar breath a sigh of relief before he was heft onto his feet and dragged back to the cargo truck, where all the other unbranded faunus were being herded into. Securing the lock, six of the guards stood around the truck, keeping watch for anything. Edwards followed the rest of the other security, grabbing his pistol and whip, before running to the mine entrance.

All the lights in front of the mine, and inside, were all either out, or destroyed. The thirty or so security stood outside the entrance, priming their weapons, and turning on flashlights. "Alright, I want short, controlled bursts. If you spot the hostile, call others to your position." The head officer shouted, stepping in front of the group. "This is the only entrance to this shaft, so I want ten of you to stay out here, with weapons trained on the cave, until we return. Don't let anyone out. If more security arrives, let them through." He commanded, a small detachment nodding before they set up a perimeter around the entrance.

Edwards swallowed nervously. He was only supposed to keep workers in line, not charge into mines to fight an unknown hostile. His hand shook as he held his pistol and his whip. Slowly, their group of security entered the cave, flashlights lighting their way.

Nothing looked particularly out of the ordinary. There were the mine carts filled with rock and various types of Dust, various pickaxes that had been dropped by the miners, and some broken glass from the lights that had burst. The cave itself was almost pitch black, the only light being what filtered in from the entrance, which quickly ran out.

As they entered into what looked like a hub area, where several smaller mine shafts snaked off, they came across something disturbing. The room was rather large, with an elevator shaft that ran up to the surface, and several mine carts on tracks throughout the room. The mine elevator itself was in rather rough condition, with the main platform being shredded and the rails broken. What truly disturbed the men the most was that what had once seemed to be another security guard was now crushed inside the winch of the elevator, his rifle mangled and broken, and his white uniform stained with blood.

Edwards took one look at the elevator and knew that it wouldn't operate until he had been removed, and even then, it still might not. "Everyone, split up into groups of four, with each group searching a different. I also want another four of you to stay here. We can't have whatever's in here sneaking behind us." The commander said, heading down one of the shaft followed by three of his men.

Edwards stayed where he was. He wasn't about to go down another mineshaft, in search of something that could kill him, thank you very much. We watched as their large group split apart, slowly spreading down the rocky corridors. It wasn't long before the beams from their flashlights faded out of sight, or went around a corner. Silence overtook their squad as they stood in the dark, flashlights barely enough to dimly light the room.

"So, what do you guys think it was?" One of the other security asked, taking a seat on a small pile of rocks that had yet to be loaded on a cart.

"Probably just some underground Grimm." Another replied, following his colleague's lead, taking a seat. "Heard that's a pretty common thing down in Vale. We probably just came across a large cavern of Creeps, or something.".

"What do you think, Simmons?" The first guard asked. For a moment there was no reply, Edwards thinking that the man just didn't want to comment. "Simmons?" The guard called, shining his light to where his colleague stood, staring down one of the rocky hallways.

"I think I saw something." The man replied, voice wavering slightly. His comment immediately caught the attention of the others, with Edwards shifting away from that specific hall. "Down there." He said, shining his light where he pointed. "About a minute ago; I thought I saw something move in the dark, and when I shined my light, it was gone.".

His colleague looked around the spot with his light, searching carefully. "Nothing. You're probably just letting things get to you." He said, moving to sit back down.

"Wait, stop moving!" Everyone froze, looking at Simmons. The man stood still, looking as if he was listening to something down the hall. "Do you hear that?" He asked. The three of them listened carefully. Now that someone mentioned it, he could almost hear the sounds of…

"Gunfire." The second guard said, eyes widening. The two of them scrambled to their feet, with Edwards inching further away.

They all backed away from the hall, guns aimed at it as they heard what sounded like someone running to them. Rushing around the corner, Edwards almost pulled his trigger when one of the security officers ran into their room from the hallway, his arm limp and bleeding, followed by another guard who was firing wildly behind him. "We got to get out of here!" The injured one shouted. "It's going to kill us if we don't!"

"Calm down! Calm down!" Simmons shouted, trying to shake some sense into the man. "What happened? What is going to kill you?". The man just continued to Babel nonsense, struggling to be let free, and try and get to the exit.

"Simmons, throw a flare down the shaft." The first guard suggested. Simmons nodded his head, making sure there was no exposed Dust that could be ignited, before lighting the red stick and hurling it down the corridor. The hallway was bathed in a flickering red light as they all stared at the shaft.

**-Hours Earlier-**

All that he knew was darkness. From his earliest memories, to whatever he suffered through now, the darkness was always there. Nothing he could helped him to escape this hell, only causing him more pain. If it wasn't for his one consistent goal to somehow escape, he's sure he would have gone mad long ago.

So, imagine his surprise when he awoke, not to the all consuming darkness, but to a small beam of light. His eyes, having not seen such a thing for _so long_ were still pained by the small ray. He _heard_ something, something he hadn't experienced in so long. The sounds of people shuffling around, talking, and the clink of metal hitting stone.

The loudest of these clinks were closest to him, and with each one, the crack in the wall grew, causing the ray of light to become even larger and stronger. With one massive hit, the entire wall crumbled inwards, spilling onto the ground where he lay. As the rocks hit the ground around him, a shockwave reverberated through the cavern, with popping sounds going down the cave, the light that had pained his eyes going dark.

He slowly rose from the ground, flexing his arms and stretching his back, hearing it crack several times. Looking out of his confines, he saw multiple figures running back and forth, with a small beam of light dancing around the hallway, moving closer to himself. Poking his head out of the hole, he watched as several human-like figures scrambled away, shouting in terror.

The light that was approaching quickened its pace, searching around him. When the light landed on the large hole in the wall, he pulled back, the harsh light burning his eyes. "What was that!" He heard someone shout, with the light creeping towards the hole.

Poking through, it searched the cavern. A ring of runes and sigils were on the ground, looking extremely faded and worn. It was the first time in quite some time that he acknowledged these runes, despising the symbols that seemed to have kept him restrained. The light shined on his legs, showing the dark, ancient clothes that had faded long ago. The light continued to travel up his body, eventually shining in his face.

His reaction was one purely done out of instinct, throwing up his hands, he flinched back, ignoring the pained gasp that came from the light. The light dropped to the floor, as more screaming filled the hallways, with everyone struggling to be the first to leave. As he slowly looked back, he crept out of his cave, looking down at the light.

Crouching down, he picked it up. In his hands was a small metal shaft that had a cone at one end. Out of the cone end shot a strong beam of light wherever he pointed it. Shining it at the wall, he saw what he had done in his panic. The man who had previously been holding the light-stick had been thrown against the rocky wall, a large black spike sticking out of his eye, and pinning him to the wall.

He paid it no mind, instead stumbling down the hallway, crushing the light-stick in his hand. He didn't need it to navigate the cave. Wherever a shadow was, he could sense his path. He continued to stumble along until he came to what looked like a sort of junction in the cave. A wooden platform was in the middle of the room. Two men in white armour stood beside it, holding some sort of metal contraption in their hands, certain parts glowing slightly.

They noticed him immediately, pointing their contraptions at him. "Who are you? What are you doing in here?" One of them shouted, sounding like he was trying to intimidate him. He didn't answer, instead choosing to look around the room. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" He shouted again, pulling a small tab on his contraption that sprung back into place.

He didn't pay it any mind, instead seeing another corridor behind the two men. He ignored the man's shouting, going to walk by them. With a series of loud bangs, and bright flashes of light, he flinched back, watching as his black Aura flared, deflecting whatever hit his chest. He looked up at the two men, who were now seemingly cowing before him. They aimed their contraptions at him again.

He had just enough time to summon a wall before him, made of pure, swirling darkness. He heard their machines ping off the wall, with him safely behind it. When the bangs stopped, he parted the wall slightly, seeing them take out a small box from their contraptions before replacing it with glowing ones. Strange.

As they brought their contraptions up to point at him once more, he shoved his wall forward completely engulfing the one who had been shouting at him. The darkness swirled around him, the man screaming in pain. Slowly, the screams stopped. Letting the darkness disperse, he watched as charred bones dropped to the floor, his armour, clothes, and skin having been melted by his shadows. As his skeleton hit the ground, they seemed to dissolve into ash, floating across the ground before settling.

His companion watched in horror, scrambling to the wooden platform and pulled lever. A whirring noise filled the room as the platform began to ascend, taking the man with it. That wouldn't do. With a wave of his hands, a wave of pure darkness solidified before him, surging at the platform with its terrified occupant. The wave crashed into it, smashing the railings, and sending the man flying off.

He watched as he hit what looked like a form of pulley system. As he hit it, the platform stopped, his contraption dropping to falling from his grasp, but staying suspended by a sling, holding it around his chest. The man shook the daze from his head, before scrambling to get up, only to be kept in place by a pressure on his chest. A glance down showed that his sling had become caught in the pulley system, with his contraption holding him down, and only continuing to get tighter. The man glanced up at the monster before him, frantically searching for anything to save himself. His last thoughts were filled with pain as he was pulled back into the winch of the elevator.

The man stood in place, watching with a neutral expression as his attacker was crushed, the pulley halting completely once he had become entangled in the gears. He simply shrugged, moving down the corridor he intended to go through before he was rudely stopped. They attacked him first, and they paid the price. Walking down the hallway for several minutes, he eventually came to a dead end. His purple eyes flashed dangerously. Slamming his fist into the rock face in a fit of rage, the entire cavern shook, the shadows rippling around him.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he spread his senses out. For several minutes he stood there, feeling his shadows map out the entire cave system. So, he had to head back to the junction, and follow the largest tunnel out to the outside. He also sensed something else. More men with the same contraptions in their hands had made their way inside, spreading out into each tunnel, most likely searching for him.

He knew a group was headed his way, but he paid it no mind, walking back to the junction. His eyes narrowed when he saw several beams of light up ahead, searching the hallway. He pressed himself into the wall, feeling as the shadows moulded around him, hiding him from sight. As the group moved passed, one of them stopped right in front of him. Shining their light on his shadows, he watched as all the others stopped and did the same.

Their lights quickly burned away his shadows, leaving behind himself leaning against the wall. The first one who had stopped was shaking, pointing the contraption at him. The apparent leader of the group slowly approached him, weapon trained at his head. "Get down on the ground, now!" The leader shouted.

He saw no reason to do this. All he wanted to do was to leave this forsaken cave. Being that these men would most likely try to stop him, he decided to strike first. Bringing His hand up in a fist, he watched as his shadowy mist enveloped the man, causing him to scream. The others began to fire off their machines, projectiles bouncing off his Aura. Lunging forward, he rammed his fist through the chest of one of the other men, causing him to gasp once before dying.

The others continued to pour fire at him, to no avail. They scrambled back as he ripped his arm out of their friend, letting the body drop to the ground. Turning to them, he watched as they quickly moved back in the way they came. He chased after, more so because they were going the same way he needed to go.

In their fear driven haste, one had fallen over, struggling to get back up, too scared to think rationally. His friend was certainly brave, as upon noticing his partner having fallen, and seeing him quickly approach, ran at him, contraption raised like a sword. Deciding to humour the terrified soul, he didn't react as he was struck across the head with the contraption, barely reaction in the slightest. The man, if it was even possible, looked even more horrified.

Lashing out, he grabbed the contraption from the man's hands, feeling the metal crumple in his hands. He swiped his hand, sending a solid shadow at the man, slicing a large gash in his flesh. His friend, who had by now gotten back to his feet, grabbed his partner by the shoulder, pulling him back as he continued to fire his machine at his chest, still to no reaction.

The two rushed off, with the second man continuing to fire randomly in his direction. He knew he was being a _bit_ too brutal, but shrugged it off. That was for later contemplation. Continuing to follow the path, he stopped near the entrance to the junction, staring at the small red stick on the ground. Unlike the metal one from before, this one looked to be made out of a form of paper, and spewed a red flame.

He reached out with his shadows, plucking it from the ground. The flame gave off quite the amount of heat, and a decent amount of light. He heard shouts of fear from up ahead. Glancing to the noises, he saw several other men, all dressed like the previous ones. Each one looked to be shaking in fear, and held whatever weapon they all had, one even wielding a whip.

Extinguishing the red fire stick, he strode forwards, smiling as all the men flinched back in fear. "Now," his deep voice spoke, causing even more fear to permeate the air. "I do apologize for the fates of your colleagues, but I did what I must. Now, if one of you gentlemen would be so kind, I will be on my way, and leave you be?" He asked. It sounded like a fair deal to him.

The one who he had injured before nodded rapidly. "T-that way! Just follow the tunnel out and go!" He shouted, pointing to the tunnel to his left.

He nodded his head once in thanks. "Your honesty is much appreciated, now, if you'll excuse me." He said, turning down the hall.

He heard them shuffling behind him, quietly arguing amongst themselves. One of them seemed to lose his nerve, the others shouting at him. "Murphy, don't!".

Edwards didn't know why he had attacked it. Perhaps it was his pride, his fear, or a combination of multiple other things. All he knew was that he knew that it would never have let them go; not with what it had done to the others. He did the only thing he knew how to do, using his whip.

They were too late to stop the overweight man, as he brought his arm back, then shot it forwards, his whip aimed for the neck of the monster before them. Edwards' eyes widened when the thing spun around in less than a blink, grabbing the whip end out of the air. Its eyes narrowed, purple flames seeming to dance in its iris's. "Trying to attack me when I showed you mercy, and when my back was turned?" It asked slowly. With a quick jerk of its hand, it yanked the whip forwards, with Edwards flying along with it. Catching the large man by the neck, it lifted him into the air with one arm, staring intently into the frightened man's eyes. "You are truly without honour." It growled.

The others did nothing as he choked the scoundrel, eyes locked on one another. Slowly, black mist drifted off his hand, floating around his head. The men who he had encountered in the tunnel shouted, scrambling away. He ignored them, watching as the man choked and gasped for air. A twisted glint filled his eye, smirking slightly. The mist slowly drifted together, slowly floating into the man's mouth, the man's eyes growing even wider.

Dropping him on the floor, he watched for several moments as his mist did its job. His skin quickly darkened, with blood pouring out of his eyes, ears, and nose. The man continued to thrash on the ground, making pained noises. Glancing up at the terrified men, he simply turned around. "Don't touch your friend there, or else you will share in his fate." He warned, walking down the hall.

He continued to walk, the darkness of the cave slowly becoming brighter and brighter. Stepping out of the entrance to the cave, he watched as ten men scrambled to their feet, pointing their weapons at him. "Father, they do like those annoying things, don't they?" He muttered to himself, rolling his eyes. He crossed his arms. "Look, I will give you the same offer I gave your colleagues in there." He said, pointing his thumb back at the cave. "If you let me go without making a fuss, I will spare you. If you choose to fight? Well… I can't be blamed for your fates."

They seemed to still at his words. They had heard the noises from inside the caves, but didn't put much thought into it. They assumed he had been dealt with, and hadn't expected him to walk out perfectly fine. They looked around at one another, each one seeming to come to the same conclusion. "You're lying." One of them stated. He frowned. He most certainly was not lying. "Fire!". Their weapons all began to shoot, their projectiles doing nothing but making his Aura flare.

With a swipe of his arm, all the firing stopped, a tendril of shadow hovering in the air. The men dropped to the ground, each one trying to stop the blood flowing from the gashes in their necks. "I did warn you." He said, stepping over the writhing bodies. He walked around the area. All the buildings were made from metal, and there were small windows in the side of them. He approached the largest of the buildings, hearing something within.

Adam smacked the stock of the rifle against the last guards head, knocking the man unconscious. He took a deep breath sitting back. One of the faunus that he had been trapped in the truck with had been a locksmith at their village, and used a hairpin from the little girl to help unlock his handcuffs.

Once he had been freed, he had gotten some of them men to hit him. It had been a pain to convince them, but they eventually caved in once he explained his Semblance. It still hurt, but he had used that pain and energy to blow a large hole in the truck door where he knew the lock was. Then, him and the other male faunus had rushed the guards, disarming and subduing the men.

He picked up the man's rifle, and stood back up, leaving the guard on the ground. Their attention was drawn to the door of the building when the door was blown off its hinges, landing somewhere on the other side of the room. He aimed his gun at the figure that stepped in. It was clearly a male, standing well over six feet tall. His clothes looked rather odd, appearing extremely old in design, and the black and purple colours rather faded. His skin was quite pale, and his eyes were a dark purple. He looked rather muscular, but not over excessive. Adam could tell that he was much stronger than he appeared.

"W-who are y-you?" Adam asked the intimidating man, shakily. He didn't reply, instead striding forwards. "Don't come any closer!" Adam shouted, the barrel of his gun wavering heavily. Everyone else in the room who was armed was doing the same thing. Adam backed up as the man got closer. "I don't want to hurt you!".

The man seemingly stopped, cocking his head to the side, and looking down at Adam. "Calm yourself, child. I mean you no harm." He said, smiling softly.

Adam was no fool, but he could see the honesty in the man's eyes. He didn't drop his weapon completely, but he did lower the gun, with everyone else following suit, not wanting to antagonize the powerful man. "S-Sir?" A tiny voice asked. Adam looked over his shoulder. It was the young girl that he had fought to keep from being branded. Her hair still fell over her face, as if she was trying to hide from everyone's view. "Are y-you here to save us?" She asked hesitantly, as if her asking would cause him to lash out.

The man merely smiled even softer, kneeling down on one knee. "Yes, little one. I will save you.". His statement made the little girl smile, pushing her hair out of her face, some of it falling back. "Tell me, little one. What is your name?" He asked, smiling.

Blake shifted her weight back and forth, looking at the ground shyly, glancing up at him every so often. "Blake." She replied quietly, holding her cat plushie closely to her chest.

The man hummed happily. "Blake? That's a lovely name." He said, causing the young girl to thank him quietly, her hair falling in front of her face. "Blake, I have a gift for you."

The girl looked up at him in both excitement and trepidation. "You do?" She asked, perking up.

"Uh huh." He replied. "Just come over here, please." He asked. Blake stood there for a moment, glancing at Adam, who was the closest person there to her age. Adam didn't know what to do, only shrugging. It was her choice.

As she slowly walked up to him, he smiled gently. "Here; watch this." He said. Blake, as well as all the other faunus, watched in amazement as he held out his hand. The shadows from around the room seemed to rush forward, and gathered in his palm. He then dipped his fingers in the shadows, slowly pulling out what looked like a long ribbon from it. Blake was in awe at the magic. She thought that magic was only in the books her mom would read to her. "Here, let me." The man said, reaching up to her head. Pulling the troublesome locks of hair out of her face, he tucked them behind her head. He then proceeded to tie the ribbon around her hair, making a small, black bow on the side of her right temple, right above her ear. "There you go, Blake. Do you like it?" He asked, smiling still.

"I love it!" The little girl cheered, giving him a quick hug, surprising the man. Pulling back, she looked at his clothes and figure, noticing how odd it looked. "You're dressed kinda funny, mister." She said, confused. Looking at him in the eyes, she smiled. "What's your name?"

Chuckling slightly, the man stood up, patting the girl on the head. "Well, my real name is Perseus, but my friends just called me Percy. You can call me that if you like." The now named Perseus offered, earning an enthusiastic head nod.

One of the faunus men warily approached them, showing no hostility. Though his soft actions with the little girl had eased their tensions, they couldn't afford to take any chances. "I'm not sure what your business is here, mister, but we could use you help." The faunus asked, his tone neutral.

Perseus quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? With what do you need me for?" He asked, still sounding like he was talking to children.

"Well," the man responded. "We don't nearly have the ammunition to fight off any Grimm that may attack us on our way back to our village, even if we take the trucks. We were hoping that you could escort us back home." The man asked, hopefully. "If not, you don't have to, its just I-"

"I'll do it, on one condition." Perseus replied, cutting off the other man. "Once we arrive, you will give me refuge until I can leave for my home."

The faunus man looked back at the other faunus. They all seemed to agree that it was fair to do so. They wouldn't last long if the Grimm attacked them on their way back, guns or not. "It's a deal, then." The man said, extending his hand.

"Good." Perseus simply replied, shaking his hand. Turning on his heel, Perseus strode out of the building. "Get in your 'truck'. I will follow you." He said, walking out into the snow.

They went out and gathered in the other transport truck, this time taking several coats to warm themselves. Once they were all ready, they pulled out of the docking bay, with the man Perseus had been talking to driving. "How are you going to follow us? You can't do it on foot?" The man asked, confused at their escort.

"Give me one moment." He replied, walking away from the building. Bringing his hand up to his mouth, he let out an extremely sharp whistle, cutting through the noise of the wind. For several moments, nothing happened, as those in the cabin of the truck watched the mysterious man. They let out a shout of shock and fear when a large Nevermore landed right in front of the man. Perseus didn't even flinch, reaching up to the large Grimm bird's head. "Shhh." He whispered. "Calm yourself."

The Nevermore bowed its head, glowing red eyes staring at him. Perseus stared right back. The bird closed its eyes, submitting to the pressure on its mind, bowing even lower, and tucking in its wings to let him climb on. Hopping up onto the grand bird's neck, he gripped some feathers on the base of its skull, using them as reins. He looked over to the truck, and the equally parts amazed and terrified man. "Well? Shall we?" Perseus asked.

The man numbly nodded, watching as the bird took flight, taking the man with it. Putting the truck in gear, he slowly pulled out of the seemingly deserted mining facility. The truck jerked as it rammed through the South Gate, before slowly gaining speed. As the snow whipped by, there was one thing on the man's mind.

'Just what had they agreed to bring to their village?'

**So, what did you think?**

**It definitely turned out a lot darker than I had originally intended, but I'm quite happy with it. But that's just me, what did you think?**

**Now, if you haven't already guessed, this takes place quite a few years before the initial events of RWBY. I have also wanted to do a story where Adam plays a bigger role for awhile, and I thought that this would be the perfect fit for him. Now, I know that Percy seems a little bit OP, and rather ruthless right now, but I will remedy that in the next few chapters**.

**So, how do you think I did? Good? Bad? Excellent? Absolutely abhorrent? Consider telling me through the lovely, and convenient, use of the review button! Just please keep it PG-13, as anything more makes you look like a jerk. If you liked this story, and aren't out for my blood due to postponing RotS, consider following and favouriting the story so that you know when I update!**

**That's all for now. This is Canadian Admiral signing off.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, all! I am back, as one can clearly tell. **

**I am actually slightly surprised with how warm of a reception this story received upon release. I honestly thought people would tear into it due to me putting my other story on hold. I am pleasantly surprised.**

**So, as I have nothing else I need to say, on to the next chapter of Shadow of Beacon!**

"**Percy" means speech**

'**Jackson' means thought**

_***RWBY* **_**means telepathy/flashback**

Adam sat silently in the truck, rocking slightly due to the uneven ground that they were going across. He wondered, not for the first time, what the man that helped them out was. 'Is he even a man?' Adam thought to himself.

Adam looked around their small group in the back of the truck. They had managed to recover a few of their group before heading out, but not everyone was with them. Adam's gaze fell on the little girl from before, the one he almost lost his eye for, and the one that the dark man seemed to take a liking to. She was sitting in the corner of the truck, hugging her cat plushie and lightly feeling the ribbon she was gifted.

Adam looked at the ribbon itself. It was solid black, blending in almost seamlessly with the girl's dark black hair. There was one thing that Adam noticed about it, though. The ribbon seemed to swallow any light around it, or at the very least, give off a black aura that stretched around its surroundings.

Feeling somebody looking at her, Blake carefully looked around the room. Her gaze found the older boy that had almost been branded for fighting the mean guards. His blue eyes quickly looked away, his face trying to look as if he hadn't been caught staring at her. Slowly getting up, she walked over to the boy, careful not to fall over in the unsteady truck. Sitting down beside the boy, who briefly glanced at her before looking away again, Blake sat in silence, not knowing what to say. "T-thank you for trying to help me." Blake said quietly, burying her face in her beloved plushie.

Smiling slightly, Adam looked over to the meek girl. "Heh, it's nothing." He replied, waving it off. Though he wouldn't admit it, he had been absolutely terrified when they were about to brand him over the eye. He could almost still feel the heat coming from it, barely an inch from his face. Unconsciously reaching up, his fingers brushed over the spot where he would have been scarred. "So, Blake, was it?" Adam asked, getting a toothy smile and an enthusiastic head nod. "What do you think of Percy?"

Blake's grew scrunched up in concentration, as if deciding her thoughts on the dark man was the most difficult thing in the world for her. "Well," Blake began slowly. "I think that he is a little scary." Blake decided. "But I also think that he is really nice! He wouldn't help us if he wasn't." Blake said hurriedly, defending Perseus.

Adam nodded slightly, chuckling at the girl's statement. "Yeah, I think he's a little frightening too." Adam agreed, saying so in a teasing tone that Blake giggled at.

"Yeah, but he did give me this ribbon." Blake said happily, pointing at the piece of fabric-like shadow. "I hope that mom and dad meet him!" She said excitedly, Adam chuckling at how happy she seemed.

Slowly, they could feel the truck slowing down, evident by the sound of the wind dying down. As they came to a stop, Adam watched as the back of their truck was opened, letting in the warm lights of their village. Faunus jumped out, running to their crying families, tears rolling down their cheeks in joy. "Blake!" Came the shouts of two black-haired cat-like faunus. Blake, being helped down from the truck by Adam, ran to her presumed parents.

The man was big, his shoulders being nearly twice as wide as Adam, and standing nearly seven feet tall. The man was accompanied by, assumably, his wife. She stood much shorter, at around 5'6". Both of the faunus parents were on their knees, desperately hugging their daughter, who was also crying happily, and were whispering assurances in her ear.

Adam smiled sadly. He was glad that Blake could be reunited with her parents. Him, on the other hand, didn't have such things, having been a child that the entire village raised, never knowing his parents. Looking up in the night sky, Adam could hardly make out anything, let alone the figure of a pitch-black Nevermore. Something did gain his attention, though. Every few seconds, stars looked to briefly disappear for a moment, only to reappear again right after. Staring up at the stars, he noticed that they kept disappearing in a pattern; a circle. It was as if something was circling them.

When no further stars were blot out, the only thing that could be heard was the weeping and murmurs of the village. Those murmurs turned to shouts of shock and screams of terror as a black shape landed heavily on the roof of the truck. Adam rolled away, not expecting the massive beast to appear so suddenly, scrambling towards the other villagers.

Letting out a loud caw, the Nevermore spread out its lengthy wingspan, sending more shrieks of fear, and causing several faunus men to grab their guns to shoot the Grimm. "Don't shoot!" The faunus who had driven them shouted, waving his arms frantically to get people's attention. "For Dust's sake, don't fire!" He continued to yell.

The massive Nevermore bowed its head, paying no heed to the creatures before it. The faunus all stepped back when a man in dark robes descended from the great beast. Standing atop the truck, Perseus rubbed the beak of the Grimm, whispering quietly to it. The monster seemed to relax at his touch, cooing happily. Stepping back from the large bird, Perseus made a quick motion with his head, and with that, the large Nevermore took off into the night sky, screeching happily.

Perseus turned around, looking down at the faunus of the village, all very frightened of him, with the driver of the truck desperately trying to keep people from attacking him. Stepping off the roof of the truck, Perseus gazed around the village. It wasn't impressive by any means, but it was big enough to support the small community. Their houses were made out of stone and logs, with the walls surrounding the village made of solid stone with wooden walkways around the top. Looking at the group of faunus, Percy recognized the faces of the red-haired boy, and the small girl.

"Mom, Dad! This is Percy! He helped us escape!" Blake exclaimed happily, trying to pull her parents forward to meet the dark man. Percy smiled down at the young girl, ignoring the way her father stiffened at his look. "He even gave me this cool bow!" She said, happily showing off her new headwear, cat ears wiggling.

Ghira was hesitant of the man. On the one hand, he had apparently helped his people escape the SDC quarry, saving them from a lifetime of what was essentially slavery. On the other hand, he not only could somehow control the Grimm, but worse still, was that he had taken a liking to his young daughter. He would have to talk with him, trying to figure out a plan to deal with the powerful man.

Kali wasn't as hesitant. Whilst she did worry what this man could do, and what his motivations were, she was far more grateful to have her little angel back, hugging Blake close. "Thank you." Kali said, tears still in her eyes.

Perseus stared at the mother and daughter. He was silently pleased that Blake still had the bow in her hair. Walking up to the family, he noticed how the woman gently pulled Blake back, with the man stepping in front of them both. He was much taller than Perseus, but wasn't anywhere near as powerful. "Thank you for bringing back our people." The large man said, getting a slight nod of the head from Perseus. "If there is something that we may do to repay you, please tell me." The man went on further. "I am the leader of our small village at the moment. My name is Ghira." Ghira said, extending his hand out to Perseus.

Percy shook the offered hand, nodding. "I am known as Perseus." He replied. "I made a deal with that man over there. I would protect their "truck" from Grimm attacks on their way back from the mine, and in return, I would be allowed to reside here until I wished to leave." Perseus said, pointing to the one who had driven the truck.

Ghira mulled it over, looking at the village folk. Pointing to one of his organization members, he gestured to one of the buildings in the town. "Go and prepare a room for our guest." Ghira ordered, the man rushing off without complain. Ghira looked at all of the village staring at him and Percy, incredibly wary of the latter. "All of you, head to your houses. Work still needs to be done tomorrow." Ghira said, the people bowing their heads before quickly making their way back home, some still crying while holding their family. Gesturing to the largest building, Ghira put on the friendliest smile he could. "Come, let us talk and dine whilst your room is being prepared."

Perseus followed along wordlessly. He walked alongside Ghira, carefully watching their surroundings. "Your people seem rather on edge." He noted, getting a nervous chuckle from the bear of a man.

"Yes, well, it is not everyday that a Huntsman such as yourself is amongst our midst." Ghira dismissed, waving it off. "Now tell me, Perseus. What are you doing so far from the city?" Ghira asked slowly, holding the door open for his guest and family members.

Perseus stepped inside the small house. It was well lit, and had a small cooking fire crackling in the middle of the room, a pot of water boiling overtop it. There was what appeared to be a small room in the corner. Ghira led him over to a table that sat near the opposite wall, situated in the corner. "I could ask you of the same thing. I don't recall small villages such as this lasting very long so far away from the kingdom." Perseus replied.

Kali led Blake into the small room in the corner, nodding slightly to her husband. Ghira took a small ladle out of the pot of water, filling a small teapot. He added in a small bag of tea leaves into the pot before placing it on the table. "Well, this isn't exactly a permanent settlement." Ghira explained. "I am the head of an organization known as the White Fang. We push for equal treatment of faunus with the humans, and the reason we are here is due to reports of the SDC quarry enslaving local faunus to work for free. After last night, it is clear that they are." Ghira reported, pouring himself a cup of tea, offering some to Perseus.

Perseus took a slow sip from his drink. It was the first thing he had drank in years, and it tasted heavenly. Drinking the whole cup in one gulp, he sighed contentedly. "I suppose it is only polite to give my side of the tale." Perseus said, placing the cup on the table. He noted that Kali had returned from her daughter's room, her eyes still red from crying. "But first," Perseus said, turning to the woman. "How is young Blake? She must have had an awfully long day." Perseus asked, setting the parents on edge.

Kali slowly walked over to the table, sitting beside her husband. "Well, I put her to bed, but she seems fine, if a little shaken." Kali explained, pouring herself a cup of tea.

Perseus hummed to himself. Blake and that Adam boy seemed rather interesting. "Well, that's good to hear." Perseus said, facing the two parents. "Now, tell me, are the two of you religious?"

**-Line Break-**

General James Ironwood would note consider himself a nice man. He knew that others thought that he was rather cold and calculating, disregarding others if it meant the betterment of the many, and not the few. This mindset had put him at odds with the politicians of Atlas countless times, each one of them wanting to hold onto power as long as possible, and make as much money for themselves as they could. Ironwood had been a constant thorn in their side since he became the head of their Academy and military.

Sitting in his office, Ironwood leaned back in his chair, sighing as he read over another one of the Council's inane proposals, one which would undoubtedly make his job even harder than it currently was should it be passed. Placing the pages down on his desk, he ran his gloved hand through his greying hair. Pushing himself back slightly, he opened a small drawer on the side of his desk which contained a small bottle of Mistrali brandy.

Uncorking the bottle, he allowed himself a small smile at the scent of the liquor, pouring a small amount into a glass that was also in the drawer. Putting the cork back in place, he put the bottle back in its drawer, closing it again. Grabbing the glass of brandy, he took a very slow sip, savouring the taste, and letting the drink soothe his strained nerves. Ironwood stared out of the window he had in his office, watching the snow from outside blow furiously around in the wind. Though he would never say it to his face, he could see why Qrow drank so much.

At the thought of his colleague, he grew solemn. Qrow, the poor man, had been drinking himself almost to death for the past year, never allowing himself a break, throwing himself into work. Ozpin hadn't really explained it that well, only mentioning that someone close to the man had died, and refused to elaborate further.

His musings were cut off by his scroll ringing. Seeing who was calling him at such a time, Ironwood very nearly just ignored it. Accepting the call, his caller's face appeared on his desk's screen projector. As much as he hated dealing with the man, Jacques Schnee was not a man that Ironwood wanted on his bad side. "What do you want, Jacques? I have had a particularly trying day, and I don't exactly want to deal with your games right now." Ironwood said, swallowing the rest of his drink, feeling the alcohol burn his throat.

The Schnee patriarch rolled his eyes, used to dealing with James' rather snappy attitude. "Come now, James. I only called because I was informed about something that I thought you should be notified of." Jacques replied. A small file was delivered to Ironwood's scroll. In it were several clips from what looked to be security cameras. Looking confused at the file, Ironwood looked up at the white-haired man. "It will be simpler if you see for yourself." Jacques simply stated.

Opening the first file, it depicted what appeared to be ten SDC security guards standing outside of a mine entrance. They all drew their weapons when what looked to be a dark robed man stepped out of the cave. As the guards tried to shoot the unknown man down, he swiped his hand to the side. Ironwood watched in equal parts shock and intrigue as the shadows from the cave seemed to form a solid blade, sliding through the necks of those attacking him, leaving the men to bleed out on the ground.

The clip ended when the man stepped out of the camera's sight. The next clip started automatically, depicting the man walking out of a large warehouse. A truck pulled out of the building, the driver seemingly shouting to the man. The man brought his hand up to his mouth, whistling sharply. James watched as a large Nevermore landed right in front of him. Ironwood expected the man to jump back, attacking the monstrous Grimm. Instead, he walked up to it, petting its beak, and mounted it, taking off into the sky.

The last video looked to be taken from a personal scroll. "After the hostile left with several dozen workers, we sent in a team to recover the security inside the cave mine." A voice said. It looked to be the facility doctor that was speaking, recording his personal video diary. "When we got to the main junction, we were surprised to find many of the guards that entered still alive. However, we weren't prepared to deal with… well I'm not even sure what to call it.". The video cut to the facility infirmary, showing four security guards on cots. Each one had blackened skin, their eyes, ears, noses, and mouth were all bleeding heavily. They were crying out in pain, writhing, limbs restrained to the beds. Their eyeballs, though still bleeding heavily, appeared to have liquified, leaving the sockets to haemorrhage almost endlessly. "We are nearly out of blood to give them, and the first ones to touch the men upon entering the cave were almost immediately effected." The doctor continued. "We have had to use the security droids to handle them, and after every handling, we have them bleached clean."

The doctor looked down sadly. "In the night, one of the men had broken from one of his restraints, but no one had noticed until the morning. No one knew what had happened until one of our nurses, Delilah I think her name was, went to change the blood bag of the patient. He grabbed her arm, and the other nurse watched as "a black mist seeped out of the guard's hand, before soaking into Delilah's arm". Poor Delilah was effected almost instantly, her eyes bleeding." The doctor reported, running his hands through his ragged hair. "I guess she didn't want to end up like the others, and threw herself out of the window."

The doctor laid back in his chair, stressed and unsure. "We have the body in a capsule to be transported back to a secure institution, as well as the other patients." He said. The video cut to the mine entrance, which showed the shaft being sealed up with cement. "We have been ordered to close up the shaft, as the blood could also be infectious, and we can't risk whatever this is getting out. We are all being sent to a separate facility for quarantine." The doctor said, sitting back in his chair. He went silent for several seconds, his eyes glossing over as he stared at something behind the camera. "Gods, if this gets out, I have no clue what it could do. The first patient, the one that was found in the mine, finally succumbed to his… symptoms last night. We will be transporting what remains of his body with the others. I say remains because his damn body started to flake away like ash, like he was a damn Grimm, or something. Thankfully we sealed the body in an airtight transport pod, so whatever is left of him is still in there. I can only hope that this is the end of it." The doctor finished, concluding with the date and shutting the video off, ending the recording.

Ironwood was left speechless, still in shock from seeing the effects of whatever the man had done. "What is this?" He muttered to himself.

"Well, it could very well become an epidemic that will wipe out Atlas if we are not careful, James." Jacques said, shaking his head. "I will send you the details of what we are doing to contain this, but I am told that there have still been three more cases reported."

Ironwood nodded his head. "I will have a detachment of my men assist you." Ironwood stated. "We can't let this spread, Jacques." Ironwood said, causing the man to roll his eyes at the obviousness of the statement.

"I will be in contact." Jacques simply stated, ending the call.

Ironwood sat in his chair, looking over the images of the patients, and staring at the recording of the dark robed man. Opening up the drawer from before, he uncorked the bottle, taking a drink straight from it. 'Looks like I won't be getting any sleep tonight.' James thought to himself. 'Ozpin needs to know.'

**-Line Break-**

Perseus laid in his bed, staring at the ceiling. The talk with Ghira and Kali had gone well enough, with them still being rather guarded around him. As they should.

He had been rather disappointed to learn that his Father and Uncle had been written off as mere fairy tales, told to children. After hearing of this, he had decided not to go into detail about his family, choosing to spare the parents of knowing, instead telling them of how he had stumbled upon the quarry in his travels, and chose to liberate the enslaved workers. It wasn't the best tale, nor the best lie, but he didn't need them to trust him. They wouldn't be stupid enough to attack him, so he decided to play along with them.

They needed to stay in _his_ good graces far more than he needed to stay in_ theirs._

Perseus had briefly debated simply making his way to the kingdom, but decided against it, seeing as he was rather tired. Waking up from years-long imprisonment can really tire anyone out. His mind was still rather jumbled; nothing was as he remembered it, and the people carried with them weapons known as "guns", small machines that shot many projectiles at unfathomable speeds. "Despicable things." Perseus grumbled. 'Such dishonourable weapons.'

Perseus snapped out of his musings when he felt a presence in the darkness, standing just outside his window, peering in. Perseus barely put any effort into it, wrapping his shadows around the collar of the person, opened the door with another shadow, and dragged them inside, the person letting out a small yelp. Standing up lazily, he watched as the, now terrified, form of Adam looked around his room, struggling to free himself from Perseus' shadows. "Don't you know that it is rude to spy on another person, Adam?" Perseus said, releasing the young boy before laying back down.

The red-haired faunus tried to steel himself in front of Perseus, who still laid on his bed, as if he didn't see Adam as any threat to acknowledge. "I want you to train me." Adam declared, trying to speak as sure as he could. "I want to be strong, like you."

Perseus quirked his eyebrow, glancing over to the young faunus boy. Adam, though young, had potential. He had his Aura unlocked, and had a basic grasp of his Semblance. Perseus simply looked back at the ceiling. "No." He stated simply.

Adam looked flustered at his blunt denial. "What?" He asked, hoping he'd misheard.

"I said no." Perseus replied, getting up from his bed. "Now, I would like to get some rest, so you will have to go." Perseus said, dragging the boy along by his shirt. Throwing him out, he slammed the door. Ignoring the shouts from the bull faunus, Perseus laid back down on his bed. 'He wouldn't be worth the effort.' Perseus thought, closing his eyes, letting his mind drift into unconsciousness.

Adam kept pounding on the door for several minutes, only giving up when his enhanced hearing picked up Perseus' snoring from inside the hut. Kicking the ground in frustration, he made his way to one of the huts which was unoccupied, shivering from the cold wind.

He hated it here in Atlas. Granted, he didn't know what it was like on any other continent, but he was sure that it couldn't be anywhere near as bad as Mantle. He was fortunate enough to have been taken in by the village, but if today was any clue, he was too weak to stop those that wanted to hurt him, and other faunus like him.

He had to do whatever he could to get out of here, get stronger, and protect his people. Currently, Perseus was his best option, if he could only convince him to train him. He had gotten some basic training from one of the village guards, but not anything near thorough enough to satisfy Adam.

Lighting a small fireplace that was in the corner, Adam warmed himself slowly, contemplating how he could convince Perseus to train him. Slowly, a plan formulated in his head, a grin stretching across his face.

**-Line Break-**

Perseus rose from his bed, opening his hut door, and walking out into the cold. The snow had stopped falling, and the wind had receded, only sending a weak gust every now and then. He raised his hand, whistling. Sure enough, a small Nevermore flew out from the forest, landing in his palm. "Find me the nearest settlement." He commanded, watching as the dark bird flew off in a random direction.

"That is quite the Semblance that you have there, Perseus." A voice said behind him. Turning around, he said nothing as Ghira walked up to him. "I must say, though. If talking to Grimm is your Semblance, how can you control shadows, like you told us in your tale last night." Ghira said, confusion spreading across his face.

Perseus simply smiled, one not of happiness, but one that dared Ghira to do otherwise. "Now, Ghira. I haven't questioned you so far, so I would appreciate it if you did the same." Perseus said, placing his hand on the larger man's shoulder.

Ghira slowly nodded, watching as Perseus began to walk away. "Perseus, wait.". Perseus stopped. Sighing, he turned around to face the faunus. "I had actually come to ask you something; somewhat of a proposal.".

Perseus decided to entertain Ghira. "I'm listening."

Ghira and Perseus slowly walked throughout the village. "When we came here, it was only to check on the locals, to see if the rumours about what the SDC had been doing was true. We didn't bring nearly enough people in order to protect the everyone here, but we were hoping you could help us." Ghira said. At Percy giving him an odd look Ghira explained further. "We brought only enough men to protect ourselves from the odd Grimm and bandits, not an entire village, but it has been decided that the inhabitants of this village must come with us, back to Menagerie. Not only will the increased amount of people bring more raiders and Grimm, but due to many of these people having just escaped from the SDC, I'm afraid that they will send their forces after us to keep their illegal practices covered up. I was hoping that you could protect us from such threats, at least until we make it back to the capital?" Ghira asked hopefully.

Perseus mulled it over in his head. On the one hand, it would slow down his progress returning to the kingdom, but on the other, the leaders of a decently influential organization would be indebted to him. "And what would I get from this?" Perseus asked, sounding uninterested.

"Anything." Ghira assured. "If it is within my power to do so, I will give it to you." Percy continued to mull it over, watching with a small amount of amusement at the growing desperation on Ghira's face. "I can assure you that you will be payed handsomely, and-"

"I have no desire for your money, Belladonna." Percy said, stopping in his tracks. His eyes were hard, showing his displeasure. Slowly, his expression morphed into one of amusement. "What I would like is something far simpler."

"Of course, anything." Ghira assured, sounding hopeful.

"A favour." Perseus stated.

"A favour?" Ghira repeated, confused. That was it, nothing more than a simple favour?

"Yes, a favour." Perseus confirmed. "After I escort you and your people to the capital, I would like a favour from you. I may claim it immediately, years from now, or I may never need it." Perseus explained. His expression darkened, his purple eyes seeming to go right through to Ghira's soul. "However, should I come to you, wishing to collect on that favour, I will expect you provide. Do I make myself clear, Ghira Belladonna?" Perseus asked, getting a slightly fearful nod of the head from the large faunus. "Good. Now, do we have a deal?" Perseus asked, extending his hand.

Ghira thought it over. The deal almost sounded too good to be true. All this work for just one favour, one that may never be used, how could he give this up? However, what if his request was beyond his power, or if the request was simply too absurd to go through with?

With a slight grimace, Ghira shook the outstretched hand. He would deal with Perseus' request when the man asked; it was simply too good of a deal to pass up. He couldn't help but notice as Perseus' smile grew darker ever so slightly. "You made the smart choice, Ghira." Perseus said, letting go.

As the dark robed man walked away, Ghira was left standing where he was. No matter how he spun it, he just couldn't help but feel as though he had gotten the worse end of the deal.

**Well, that was chapter 2.**

**I will admit, this was a pain to write. No matter what I did, I couldn't pull off the same feel of Perseus as I did in the first chapter. I scrapped three other drafts of this chapter. I like the creepier feel of Perseus, but no matter how I wrote it, I just couldn't get it to work with the setting of this chapter.**

**I feel that I should be able recapture that factor in the following chapters, so I hope I haven't ruined this story for you guys with this chapter. **

**So, what did you think of it? Please tell me through the use of reviews, as I myself don't like this chapter no matter what I do, and I am keen to know how I could improve. If you thought it was pretty good and enjoyed, consider following and favouriting the story so that you know when I update next.**

**With all that said, this is Canadian Admiral signing off.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello once more, my readers. How hath thou been?**

**I really need to come up with better openings…**

**Oh, well. So, I think that you will all enjoy this chapter; I certainly enjoyed it more than last one. I was actually surprised how much people seemed to enjoy last one. Hey, I'm not complaining.**

**Just a quick thanks to everyone who reviewed, it really does help seeing your approval, and your speculations. You are all amazing!**

"**Percy" means speech**

'**Jackson' means thought**

_***RWBY* **_**means telepathy/flashback**

Ozpin looked out the window of his office. Down below, he could see not only his Academy, but the edge of Vale. He watched where another year of starry-eyed students would arrive at Beacon, with thoughts of adventure and grandeur. It always amused him when he would fling them into the Emerald Forest. The idea didn't appeal quite as much to Glynda.

Speaking of his deputy, he really must go join her in the main auditorium to make his usual speech to the Beacon initiates. Standing from his desk, he made his way over to the elevator, coffee mug in hand. Just as the doors to the elevator opened, the scroll connected to his desk began to buzz.

Checking his watch, he figured he had time for a call. Hopefully Glynda wouldn't be too cross with him being slightly late.

Walking back over to his desk, he picked up his scroll to check his caller. Staring at him was the blank face of General James Ironwood. Pausing for a moment, Ozpin mentally shrugged, non perturbed by Ironwood's sudden call. Sitting down in his chair, he pulled up the video screen, displaying Ironwood's face. "Ah, James. So good to hear from you, old friend. How are things going in Atlas?" Ozpin smiled lightly before something caught his eye.

Ironwood looked rather tired. There were dark bags underneath his eyes, his usually combed and military hair was now unruly and unwashed. James himself, though he tried to hide it, looked as if he hadn't gotten a bit of rest for several days. His head almost seemed to drift from side to side, as if at any moment he would fall asleep, kept awake solely by his iron will.

Laughing inwardly to himself at his pun, Ozpin took a sip from his mug. "My, my. It would appear that your secretary must have resigned, forcing you to do all the paperwork." Ozpin said, smiling before schooling his face into one of seriousness. "What did you need?"

"I _need_ you to look over the files that I just sent you. We have a real problem over here in Atlas." Ironwood said, choosing not to waste any time.

Ozpin pulled up the files that James spoke of. "What kind of problems? You don't mean Salem, do you?" Ozpin asked seriously. The file contained several videos, some looking like security footage, and some looking like field reports.

Ironwood sighed, placing his gloved hand on his brow. "I'm not even sure, Oz. If it is, then it is unlike anything she's ever done before.".

Ozpin didn't reply, instead choosing to watch the videos. For the next several minutes, he watched as SDC security guards were butchered, and the one responsible for doing such things riding into the sky atop a Nevermore. The videos continued to show the plague that the man had left, infecting all those who touched patients. He watched as people seemed to hemorrhage an almost endless amount of blood from their faces.

The last video was a short clip, taken from Ironwood's own audio diary. The video was just the audio. "_Since I was made aware of this outbreak, Jacques Schnee and myself have been working to contain anyone who could have been infected. All employees that worked at the facility where this took place have been placed in quarantined, and a detachment of doctors and scientists have been sent to analyze the infected. For the safety of everyone involved, we have also equipped them with modified Atlesian Knight-130s. A small task force has also been sent to the facility where the… incident took place in order to apprehend the one responsible, as was decided by the Atlas Council. I tried to explain that we should wait until we understand this disease before sending anyone out, but I was unfortunately outvoted."_ The recording said.

You could tell that Ironwood was extremely agitated by the Councils ruling, but he still complied. The recording went silent for several moments, Ozpin only hearing Ironwood's frustrated sigh in the clip. "_Jacques has been bothering me nonstop since this started. Predictably, he has been bitching to me about how I've had to close down the other two quarries that were in the same area, for fear that the same thing could spread there too." _James' recording said. Ozpin heard what sounded like James taking a drink of the brandy he knew James kept in his desk. "_Sometimes, I really hate that man."_ Ironwood's recording concluded, giving the date and time before ending.

Ozpin leaned back in his chair, mulling over everything that he had just witnessed. James, who had remained silent whilst the recordings were playing, spoke once more. "What do you suggest, Oz?" Ironwood asked, his grim expression clearly showing his uneasiness.

Ozpin kept quiet for several more seconds, holding his mug in front of his face. "Who was sent out in the task force?" Ozpin asked at last, looking James in the eye.

Ironwood typed on his computer, pulling up the file. "Two platoons of soldiers, each led by an Atlas Specialist." Ironwood reported, pulling up the Specialists' files. "Aqua Mercia and Opal Sachar. The former specializes in tracking and the latter being rather experienced in search and destroy missions. Both have high success rates in their fields, and are quite distinguished." Ironwood reported. "They are under strict orders to not engage the hostile unless absolutely necessary, and to call in reinforcements once his location is discovered."

Ozpin nodded his head. "Well, you have certainly given me much to think about, James. Send these files to the other Headmasters, and try to keep this quiet. We can't afford letting the public know of this disease, lest we cause a panic and draw in the Grimm." Ozpin ordered, standing from his chair. "I would also like to meet with you soon, James."

Ironwood nodded his head tiredly, ending the call, leaving Ozpin in his office. Refilling his mug with coffee, he walked over to the elevator, running scenarios over in his head. 'So, Perseus has awoken and returned.' Ozpin mused, walking towards where the new Beacon students had gathered. 'How interesting.'

**-Line Break-**

Ghira took a wary look around. The shadows of the forest canopy seemed to creep up on him, as if hiding a massive Grimm behind each tree. He had to force himself to breath normally, seeing as all his men kept looking to him every few minutes to reassure themselves.

They had left their encampment a day ago, and had been walking to the nearest town ever since, barely stopping to rest. Looking behind him, and to the centre of their convoy of people, was erasers, who seemed both bored and slightly irritated. The two of them hadn't spoken since they left, and Perseus had stayed with them.

They had been walking for quite some time, and they had yet to encounter any raiders or bandits, which Ghira was thankful for. What was somewhat more worrying was that they hadn't run into any Grimm at all. They hadn't even seen so much as a small Nevermore! Whilst the lack of the monstrosities should have pleased Ghira, it only served to make him more on edge.

The large man almost jumped, shaken out of his thoughts, when he felt someone place their hand on his arm. Looking down, he saw it was his wife, who was staring at him with a clearly worried face. "What's wrong, honey?" Ghira asked, smiling down at Kali.

Kali looked rather tired. Although she was used to long trips in the wilderness, due to traveling to different towns and cities with the White Fang, she still wasn't used to walking for almost a day and a half straight. However, it wasn't herself she was worried for. "Ghira, could you please talk to Perseus? We must rest. Blake is on the verge of passing out, and most of the townsfolk are getting to tired to keep going." Kali said pleadingly, glancing at Blake, who was up ahead. She had been talking to the red-haired boy for most of the trip, and when she had grown tired of walking, had somehow convinced the boy to carry her on his back. Kali could see that Blake was struggling to stay awake, her head bobbing slightly.

Ghira nodded, having noticed Blake and the others' lack of energy. "Sure thing, love." Ghira said, slowing down. He waited until he was about in the centre of their convoy before speaking. "Everyone, set up camp. We rest here tonight." Ghira called. He then pointed to a nearby White Fang member. "Dolan, set up a watch rotation. I would like everyone to get at least some sleep tonight.". The faunus nodded, walking off to follow Ghira's orders.

Ghira glanced over towards Perseus, who was looking up into the trees. Following his gaze, Ghira saw that, perched on a low branch, was a small Nevermore, barely bigger than a sparrow. Snapping its head to look at him, the Grimm bird stared him directly in the eyes before flying away abruptly.

It didn't take long for Perseus to approach him afterwards. "What do you think you are doing?" Perseus asked coldly, crossing his arms. His purple eyes seemed to flash dangerously. "I thought you had told me before we left that I would run this little hike."

Ghira sighed, having expected Perseus' annoyance. "Perseus, you must understand, we do not have the same stamina that a Huntsman such as yourself has. I am only doing this for our safety." Ghira reasoned, hoping Perseus would understand.

Perseus' eye twitched ever so slightly, barely enough to be noticed. "Your biggest concern right now is not exhaustion, Ghira." Perseus said. The already frigid air around them seemed to drop a further couple of degrees, causing the heavily clothed Ghira to shiver, but not seeming to effect Perseus in the slightest. "It is not my concern if you all die, Ghira." Perseus said, seeming to calm himself. "If you wish to be killed in your sleep by bandits, then that is entirely your decision." Perseus said, walking away into the forest.

Ghira watched him go, not knowing what to do about the mysterious man.

"Honey?" Kali asked from behind him.

Turning around, he saw that Kali had gotten Blake, and was now carrying the tired girl in her arms. Picking her up from her mother, Ghira simply shot Kali a reassuring smile. "Everything is fine, dear. I think the stress is just getting to everyone." Ghira said, glancing at the figure of Perseus walking further away from their camp.

**-Line Break-**

Kieth was a simple man. He liked drinking, women, and money. However, he never particularly enjoyed working for any of his money, so what better way to get it than taking it from weaker people? Genius! Granted, he wasn't the only one, and over the years, he had managed to gather a decent sized group, able to shake down any travellers in his area of eastern Atlas.

The scruffy man looked over to one of his accomplices, a pale, dark-haired woman named Dawn. The two of them had been raiding people for years, and she was one of the only people he respected. The rest of his crew were shady and would sell him out in an instant.

Well, he would do the same thing to them, so it didn't really matter all that much.

"Terrance, how much further?" Kieth growled, turning to one of his grunts.

"Not too much longer. They have been walking nonstop for days now, so they are going to have to stop for awhile to keep their strength up." Terrance replied, his voice gravely from a life of smoking. He was a shorter man, tanned, and muscled. He had been a guide to travellers when he was younger, but chose to join them due to the crappy pay. His previous life had made him quite good at tracking, a necessary skill when one ran out of food on a trip and needed to hunt for more. "If anything, I'd bet that they'll set up tonight, and we can catch them then."

Kieth nodded, looking at the sky. The sun was just starting to set, and it wouldn't be longer until darkness set in, the best time to strike. "Then let's get moving!" Kieth shouted, shoving one of the slower members of the group of twenty. "The longer we keep waiting around, the more time they have to actually set up any defences!".

Their group nodded, picking up their walk into a jog. It didn't take long until the entire forest was covered in darkness. Their group made their way through the trees, trudging through the snow, using small flashlights to provide a small amount of light to guide their way.

It didn't take long until they could see the light from campfires up ahead. Shutting of their lights, they slowly crept towards the camp. Turning to his men, Kieth began to speak. "So, we will go in pairs and surround the camp. Terrance, take three men and make sure that the people on guard are taken out. Dawn, you, me, and two others will make sure that whoever is running this group doesn't try anything funny." Kieth ordered, his men nodding before fanning out.

Kieth pulled out his trusty revolver and Bowie knife. Dawn drew her short sabre, grinning as its handle had small red lines glowing on it. His men all drew their weapons, similar to Kieth's. They waited as whoever was on guard passed them by, seeming as if they were too tired to really notice them. As they passed them, Kieth grinned, with his men all silently beginning to rush the camp.

Sneaking up behind the guard, he used his pistol to whip the man in the back of his head, causing him to drop to the ground unconscious. Screams and shouts of panic erupted around the camp as his men moved in, knocking out other guards and taking their weapons. No one killed, because doing that would no doubt bring attention on their group from authorities, and that could be disastrous.

Pointing his revolver at one of the men who had went to grab his rifle, the man slowly backed away. "Well well well. What do we have here?" Kieth asked mockingly, enjoying how several people flinched away from his knife. "A herd of animals got lost in the woods?".

Slowly, a faunus man who was far larger than anyone else in the camp slowly stood up, raising his hands placatingly. "Please, we don't want to cause any issues." The man said, stepping forwards slightly. "I'm sure that we can work something out?" He asked hopefully.

"I presume that you're in charge, then?" Kieth replied. Dawn crept around them, keeping her distance from the giant man in case things got violent. The man gave a hesitant nod, glancing around the camp, seeing the rest of his men emerge from the tree line, boxing them all in. "I think we can strike a deal." Kieth replied, striding forward confidently. "Just give us everything you have, and we might let you go, right boys?" Kieth called, getting several shouts and cheers from his men.

"I don't think-" the man started.

"Daddy? What's going on?" A small girl asked, walking out of the tent behind the man, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Her dark hair was kept out of her face from a small black bow atop her head.

The man stilled, going rigid. Before he could turn around to bring his daughter to him, Dawn grabbed the girl by the back of her shirt, dragging her away. "Now, who is this precious little thing, hm?" Dawn asked mockingly, her smooth voice sounding like a teasing aunt. "It'd be a shame if she was hurt, don't you think?" Dawn said, dragging her back over to Kieth.

The man looked like he was about to charge, not caring about anything but helping his daughter. He stilled when Dawn brought her blade to rest right below the girl's chin, glaring at the man. Kieth levelled his pistol at the man's chest. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Kieth warned. "Now if you don't want me to ain't the snow red with the girl, I suggest-"

His sentence was cut off by a shout, as well as a fist slamming into his cheek. Kieth staggered back, dropping his knife and being punched again in the stomach. The shock wearing off, Kieth caught the arm of his attacker: a young, red-haired, bull faunus teen. The kid was trying to desperately attack him, despite having one of his arms being held. Ramming the barrel of his gun into the stomach of the kid, he pulled the trigger, causing several shouts of shock and despair from the other faunus in the camp.

The teen's Aura flared, keeping him from harm, but knocking the wind out of him. Letting go of his arm, Kieth whipped him in the face with his gun, causing the teen to fall back on the ground, grasping his face in pain. Kieth massaged his jaw slightly, feeling it click once. "Kid's got some spirit!" he shouted, getting a few chuckles from his men. Leaning down to pick up his knife, he walked over to where the teen was still on the ground, kicking him over onto his chest.

Kneeling down on the kid's back, he tried to squirm free, only to stop when Kieth placed his knife across his neck. "Now, you know I can't let that level of disrespect go without punishment, don't you?" Kieth asked, getting no reply from the teen. Bolstering his gun, he grabbed the kid by the horns, forcing his head up. "Hey, Dawn. Get over here.".

Dawn rolled her eyes, shoving the girl into the arms of another of their men. Walking over, she stood over the two, looking down at them with a bored look on her face. "What, Kieth?" Dawn asked, an annoyed look in her eyes.

"Well, I heard that faunus take great pride in their animal parts, so I think it's a fitting thing to cut off one of this kid's horns, don't you?" Kieth asked, smirking cruelly. At hearing this, the teen began to struggle even more, or at least as much as he could with a knife to his throat.

Dawn rolled her eyes once more, but smiled evilly all the same. Her sword blade began to glow brightly, giving off an intense heat. "Terrance! Make sure that the big guy doesn't move." Dawn called, lining up her blade with the teen's left horn.

There was no reply. "Terrance! Do you understand?" Kieth shouted, not wanting anything to go wrong. At still not hearing a reply, Kieth looked up from the teen, scanning his men. "Terrance!". Looking at one of the men who had gone with Terrance, he shouted, "Where is he?"

The man looked equally confused, looking around the camp. "I don't know." He said, confused. "He was right beside me a moment ago.".

Kieth slowly rose up, still keeping a foot on the teen's back. "Matt, take his place. Make sure he doesn't move!" Kieth said, gesturing to the large man. No one said anything, heads turning all around the camp. "Matt!" Kieth called.

Looking around the camp, Kieth noticed something that shook him more than he would have cared to admit. Out of the twenty people he attacked with, there was only about twelve of them in the clearing. His face scrunched in slight confusion. His men knew his tactics; they were to all enter the camp to handle the guards, and he knew that none would have wondered off. "What the…" Kieth trailed off.

All at once, the shadows of the forest surrounding the camp erupted into pained screams. Cries for mercy, pain, and pleading for help filled the air. Out of all the noise, their were two that he recognized immediately: Matt and Terrance!

His men shuffled uneasily, pointing their weapons into the dark and slowly joining together in the middle. The screaming continued, quickly growing even more desperate and pained. All at once, the noise stopped, the last remnants of the screams echoing in the night sky. The only sounds that remained were the frightened whispers of the faunus and the cracking of the fire.

Their group slowly formed a small circle in the middle of camp, with Dawn and Kieth leaving the bull faunus behind. They all faced outwards, weapons primed and at-the-ready. Three of the men were shaking slightly in fear, barely able to keep their guns relatively steady. The shadows that the campfires were making almost making it appear as if the darkness was alive.

A shout followed shortly by a cry of help caused them to jump, watching as something seemed to pull one of their members away, dragging the struggling man across the ground. He clawed at the dirt, trying to keep himself with them, but couldn't break free. As he was pulled into the shadows of the forest, his screams abruptly stopped with a loud crack. It vaguely reminded Kieth of the breaking of bones.

Suddenly, a second man's foot was snagged, pulling him over onto the ground. Several men leapt over, grabbing his arms as he desperately held on. They tried their best, those not pulling firing their guns wildly into the darkness in the direction he was being pulled. Just as it seemed like they were making progress pulling him away, a massive tug pulled all those holding onto the man to fall over, letting go of him. The man wasn't pulled any further, as if he had been let go. As he went to stand up, he felt another tug on his foot. Glancing down, he saw a black tendril wrapped around his boot.

Thinking quickly, the bandit undid his boot laces, kicking off his footwear. The tendril pulled the boot swiftly into the dark. Standing up full, he glanced back at the others, laughing lightly and quietly in relief. Some of the other bandits joined in, taking the momentary relief, only to shout in shock and terror when the tendril shot back out of the dark, impaling him in the shoulder, and dragging him back into the dark after he fell on his rear.

The other bandits fired into the woods, hoping to hit _anything_. Unlike the man before him, his end was not swift. The others were forced to hear as he was, what sounded like, being torn apart line by limb, choking on blood. For a moment, the sounds stopped, leaving only the weeping of the broken man.

They almost fired again when the same man slowly began to drag himself into the light. His skin was black, as if it had been burnt from the inside out. Both his legs were gone, having been torn off, and his right arm was mangled, broken and bleeding. Multiple cuts were leaking blood all over his body. His face was screwed in pain as he cried, trying to pull himself away from whatever did this. His eyes were bleeding, and one looked like it had something coming out of it. He let out one last cry of anguish as whatever had ahold of him dragged him back into the dark.

"What in the hell is that!?" One of the men shouted to no one in particular. No one answered, everyone being equally clueless. The faunus had, by this point, all huddled together, with the large man from before holding both the little girl, and a new dark-haired woman in his arms, everyone looking around the camp. Everyone was primarily facing where the men had been dragged off.

Two gasps and wheezes sounded from behind Dawn, causing the woman to whirl around, her blade bared. Behind her, two of the remaining men seemed to be gasping, their skin slowly turning black and shrivelling up, as if it was being dried out and burnt. Everyone else turned around, and watched as a tall man seemed to step out of their shadows, a hand placed on each's shoulder.

A black mist seemed to seep off his hand, looking as if it was being absorbed by their flesh. The man had purple eyes, and his face was completely calm, but one could easily see the malicious intent in his eye. The men he had in his grasp continued to shrivel up, their cheeks sinking in, looking as if they were stretched across his face, their eyes popping in a shower of black dust and ash.

"GOOD GODS!" Kieth shouted, along with several other cries of terror. He raised his revolver, pointing it at the "man's" head. Pulling the trigger, he let loose a round. The bullet seemed to tear through the man's head, causing him to disappear in a puff of black mist in his shape. The bodies he had been holding dropped to the ground, looking like mummified corpses.

"Did you get it?" Dawn asked warily, creeping up beside Kieth.

"Get what?" Something whispered in her ear. Dawn screamed, slashing her sword at whatever was there. Kieth turned around, planning to shoot whatever it was again, only to feel something ram him in the chest, sending him flying several feet. Landing on his back, he tried to push himself up, looking at what attacked him, only to see the man standing amidst them, Dawn's throat held in his grasp, her feet dangling several inches off the ground.

A column of black mist erupted around the group, consuming them all in screams of pain, though Kieth could still clearly see the thing's blazing purple eyes. The mist swirled in the air, as if it was being picked up by a tornado. Screams of his men filled the air.

All at once, the mist dissolved, leaving behind the blackened skeletons of his men, most either having fallen over or were kneeling down. Some were just gone entirely, leaving nothing behind but their mangled weapons. The only ones still there was Dawn, being held up by the creature, as Kieth couldn't believe that it was a man. Dawn continued to choke, struggling to break his hold. Swinging her sabre at his head, he caught the blade with his other hand. Kieth watched in abject horror as the blade flared to life, using the fire-Dust in the hilt, only to have no effect as his Aura simply flared around his hand.

Rotating his hand, Kieth flinched as the blade snapped in half, letting out a small surge of heat as the energy was released. Dawn could only flail in his grip, managing to look over at Kieth. "Help… me…" she gagged out, struggling to breath.

As if shook out of a trance, Kieth jumped to his feet, brandishing his knife. Rushing forwards with a scream, he aimed for where the thing's kidney would be if it was human. Faster than he could comprehend, the thing had moved, replacing himself with Dawn. He felt his blade sink into just below Dawn's hip. Dawn let out a cry of anguish, falling on top of Kieth as she was let go. Falling down only served to drive the knife deeper, causing more pain.

In a split second decision, Kieth shoved Dawn off of him, clumsily clambering to his feet, before sprinting towards the woods. Unimaginable pain shot up his spine as he felt some pierce his back. Dragging him over to the man, Kieth felt as he was lifted up into the air by whatever had stabbed him. The man looked at him with a calm smile on his face, seemingly enjoying everything.

Taking in a deep breath through his nose, he sighed contentedly. "It truly has been a long time since I've been able to let loose. Last time that I did something like this, one of my… family wasn't too pleased with me." The thing said, creeping closer. Kieth tried to inch away, only for more pain to course through him. "Leaving behind your friend? How shameful." The thing scolded playfully. So, to keep such terrible deeds from ever being committed again, I will take that away from you." The thing said darkly, his grin growing wider.

Pain shot up his back once again as whatever was embedded in it squirmed deeper, severing tissue and flesh until Kieth felt, and heard, a large _crack_. Immediately, he couldn't feel anything below the waist. Being dropped to the ground, he feebly tried to scramble away, only for his legs to not respond in any way, shape, or form. "Wha-what did you do to me?" Kieth shouted, looking up at the thing through tear-filled eyes.

The thing looked to be contemplating his question, appearing as if one was humouring a small child. "Well, it is quite simple." The thing said, crouching down next to him. "I simply severed your spine right above your hip, paralyzingly you from the waist down." It said, grinning evilly. Kieth began to cry, disregarding everything else in his sorrow, only to flinch away when the thing grabbed him by the chin. "However, that should be the least of your worries."

"What do you mean? What are you going to do to me? Oh gods, please don't kill me!" Kieth shouted, pleading.

The man paid him no regard, walking away slightly. Bringing his hand up to his mouth, he let out a sharp whistle, the sound echoing through the air. For several moments, no one moved or talked, waiting. Suddenly, the sound of dozens of wings, and the cawing of ravens filled the air. Looking in the direction of the sounds, Kieth watched as dozen upon dozens of Nevermores filled the sky, blotting out the stars and moon, landing on the ground on the far end of the camp, where no one remained.

Turning back to face Kieth, the thing said two words that made him wish he _had_ just killed him. "Feeding time."

Grabbing him by the back of his shirt collar, the thing slowly dragged him over to where the Nevermore were, the creatures of Grimm growing more and more excited. Kieth cried for mercy, help, anything. He looked at the faunus, which were huddled away from them. None of them would come to his aid.

Perseus grinned happily, tossing the bandit towards the trees that contained the Grimm. The dark birds dove down on him before he even hit the ground, swarming him in a matter of seconds. His shouts and screams of agony filled the air, slowly growing quieter as more birds joined in.

Sighing happily, he turned back to the woman, who still had a knife in her leg. Grabbing her by her collar, he ripped the knife out, causing her to cry even harder. He felt as his shadows stitched up her wound, just enough so that she wouldn't bleed out.

Glancing over to the faunus, he locked eyes with their leader. "Relax, Ghira. I need at least one of them left to tell of me." Perseus chided, dropping her to the ground to write in pain. Walking over to their group, he laughed inwardly as everyone parted around him, fear and terror evident in their expressions. Walking up to Ghira, he saw that Kali was almost hiding behind her husband, with Blake being huddled in her arms, keeping her from seeing any of his deeds in the past ten minutes.

Placing his hand on Ghira's shoulder, and smiling even more at the way he flinched away, he patted the man. "I really must thank you, Ghira." Perseus said, continuing at the man's confused and fearful stare. "If I hadn't have tolerated you stopping us for the night, I wouldn't have had the chance to have so much fun disposing of these urchins!" Perseus said cheerfully.

Walking away from the group, he called back just before he entered into the dark of the forest. "Now, everyone get a good night's sleep. I would like to be at our destination by tomorrow.". He then proceeded to almost melt into the dark, sighing happily at the pained whimpers of the bandit as he was torn to shreds.

**Well, that was far more violent than I originally planned, but hey, I had fun writing it, and I hope you had fun reading it!**

**So, I would like some feedback on this chapter. I know that he is a **_**tad**_** more sadistic in this chapter, but do you think that I managed to recapture the feeling and presence that he gave off in the first chapter? I would like to know for future reference.**

**Also, I saw several comments on it already, so I will just make a note of it now. Though Perseus is kinda OP now, that will soon change so that he isn't just a one-man army of destruction. I've always disliked the stories where So-and-So can do **_**anything**_** because they are the most powerful being in the Multiverse! **

**That won't be happening here.**

**So, what do you think? Was it good, bad, or meh? Feel free to post a review or send me a PM. I respond to all PMs in due time. I only ask you keep it PG, as anything else just tends to make you look childish. Oooo, look at him, he can use grown-up words to make him seem like he knows what he's talking about.**

**If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider following and favouriting the story so that you know whenever I update next, whenever that may be. **

**That's all for now! This is Canadian Admiral signing off. **


	4. Chapter 4

**I realize that very little excuse can be made as to why it took so long to post another chapter, so I will not bother with telling why, only saying that I am lazy, school was coming up, and I had some things to do.**

**Now, I'd just like to everyone who has reviewed so far. It has helped me to plan out the story better, as it helped to get rid of unnecessary ideas and plot points. I appreciate it.**

**And, without further procrastination, on my part, I present Chapter 4 of Shadow of Beacon!**

"**Percy" means speech**

'**Jackson' means thought**

_***RWBY* **_**means telepathy/flashback**

The group of faunus moving through the forest held an air of both excitement and dread. To an outsider, it would almost appear as if it were a funeral procession, lead by a tall, dark figure. This did not go unnoticed by Ghira, as he had kept his little girl in his arms ever since the… event two nights before. His eyes drifted up to stare at the back of Perseus, who was several yards in front of him.

It was strange. The man's personality and mannerisms had shifted drastically since the run-in with the bandits. He had become far calmer, and was slower to anger. 'Perhaps he was able to just blow off all his stress?' Ghira thought to himself. He couldn't suppress a shudder as he remembered watching as men were either disintegrated, torn apart, or eaten by Grimm. Nobody, not even bandits, deserved such a fate.

"Ghira" the source of his thoughts and concerns spoke, prompting Ghira to hand Blake to Kali before walking up to join Perseus, both men overlooking the gorge they were making their way down. "There is a large city several dozen miles to the south-east. If we hurry our pace, it is feasible that we will reach it before nightfall. However, there is also a smaller village closer to our location, about ten miles to the north-east." Perseus said, pointing in the indicated directions. Ghira could just make out the smoke rising into the sky from the village. "Since you are the leader of this group, I shall let you decide our course." Perseus said smoothly.

The pros and cons of each option swirled in his head. It would be nicer if they had proper accommodations for a night, before heading on to Atlas. He knew that none of his men would start any fights with the local populace, unless to defend themselves. However, the thing that he couldn't be certain of was what Perseus would do should a villager irk him. It wouldn't do to have the media think that the peaceful White Fang had some sort of super weapon with them.

Looking at his fellow faunus, who had stopped for a brief rest, Ghira was even more in an internal conflict. He could see how worn out that everyone was. Most, if not all, had dark bags underneath their eyes, and the older members of their group looked as if they were about to collapse in exhaustion. No one could sleep very well after the bandit attack.

The decision was almost made for him. "We will head to the village for the night." Ghira declared, much to the relief of his people.

The walk to the village was a short one. Spurred on by the thought of warm beds, hot food and water, and actual walls to protect them from the cold, they all moved with renewed vigour. It wasn't long until they were at the walls of the village. A pair of guards stood in a watchtower at the gate, each holding a rifle. "Halt! State your name and business!" One of them shouted, pointing his rifle at them.

Perseus' eyes narrowed at the men, already feeling peeved at his disrespect. Before he could do anything about it though, Ghira stepped forward. "We are simply seeking refuge for the night before we head to Atlas. We were forced out of our village by raiders." Ghira replied. "We are but simple faunus, with women and children, as well as a single Huntsman. I am Ghira Belladonna."

The guards stared at them, scanning their group for anything they deemed unsuitable to let into their village. The older of the two nodded his head slightly. "Open the gate!" he called to someone behind the wall.

Slowly, the wooden gate to the village was pulled open, with several guards standing around it. The captain of the group approached Ghira, his posture firm but relaxed. "Greetings. I am Captain Decker, and I would like to formally welcome you to our village, Herschel." The captain said, shaking Ghira's hand. "I presume that, since you spoke for your group, you are the leader?" Captain Decker asked, which Ghira confirmed. "Come, I will take you to our mayor so that you can arrange accommodations for your group for the night. Until then, one of my men will lead them to the great hall for the time being." Decker explained, walking with Ghira to a building larger than the others.

A brief glance back to the others showed that they were following the other guard eagerly, happy to be out of the cold. Perseus peered around warily, keeping an eye on all the guards, but not doing anything more. Ghira lost sight of his people when he was led around a corner.

**-Line Break-**

"Anything, Aqua?" Came her partner's voice.

Standing up, she turned to him, his platinum hair and tanned skin standing out from the white snow of the forest. His scarlet eyes shone with mirth, knowing full well that there was nothing different about their surroundings from the last time he asked, five minutes ago. Sighing in mild frustration, she had to restrain herself from smacking him over the head. "No." She said simply. "There is nothing new, Opal." Aqua growled out, trying desperately to ignore her partner's chuckles.

Finally getting his laughter under control, he schooled his expression. "So, do you think we should all set up camp for the night, or continue following the trail? The sun is nearly down, and we are in a Grimm-infested forest." Opal asked, scanning the trees around them. Darkness was setting in, and the soldiers of their squads were beginning to turn on their flashlights fixed to their rifles.

Aqua scanned the forest as well, hearing the chirps and scuffles of several small animals. "We'll camp here for the night. It's best not to have any surprises in the dark." Aqua said, with Opal nodding in agreement. As Opal walked off to give out orders to their men, a thought occurred to Aqua. Furrowing her eyebrows, she pulled out her map of Solitas. "Hey, Opal? Get over here." Aqua called, her partner walking over to her seconds later.

"What is it?" He asked, curious as to why she had her map.

"Opal, I think I know where the group is heading." Aqua stated. "We've been following their tracks for several days, and if their direction stays the same, then that means they're heading directly for Atlas!" Aqua cried, looking slightly panicked.

"We have to contact General Ironwood now!" Opal responded, running over to the soldier in his squad that carried a long-range radio. "Get in touch with Command right now!" Opal shouted. The soldier nodded, radioing in.

It didn't take long for their response. "This is Atlas Specialist Headquarters, what is the situation, Specialist?" a communications officer asked.

"Command, this is Specialists Sachar and Mercia, we have urgent news regarding our target." Opal reported quickly, his mood having shifted to his discipline in the military. The operator informed him he was being transferred, leaving Opal to tap his foot impatiently.

"Specialist, what is it?" General Ironwood's voice sounded through the radio.

"General Ironwood, we may have determined where the target is headed." Aqua reported, taking the radio from Opal. "We have been following their trail since the Dust mine, and assuming they keep heading the same way, then it is most likely that the target is heading straight for Atlas from the north-west." Aqua reported.

The line was quiet, with very little sound to indicate Ironwood had even heard them. "You are sure of this?" The cool, hard voice of their General asked.

Aqua glanced up at Opal, who looked equally nervous and worried. "It would be my best guess. It is either that, or he is heading for the southern coast." Aqua replied.

The line was quiet for several more seconds. "Alright, you are to continue your pursuit. Make sure that you-"

A shout of alarm cut off the General, followed by several gunshots. Opal immediately rushed in the direction of the noises. Rushing into a small clearing, he could see several fire pits around it, all having burnt out. Near him were three of his men, pointing their lights at something on the ground. "What's going on here?" He demanded.

One of the soldiers looked back at him. "Sorry, sir. Jenkins tripped over a corpse and fired off a couple rounds in fear." The soldier replied, with the rest moving out of the way to show a mangled body.

Aqua rushed into the clearing shortly after, still holding the radio. "General, we found corpses." Aqua said, seeing several charred skeletons and the mangled corpse. "There is a body here that looks to have been swarmed by Nevermore. Eyes looked as if they were plucked out." Aqua reported, unnerved by the half-eaten corpse.

"Commanders!" Called another soldier as he entered the clearing. "There are several… remains surrounding the clearing. It looks as if they were completely torn apart." He reported.

"How many?" Opal asked, standing up from where he had been examining the mangled corpse.

The soldier was silent for a moment, deliberating over his answer. "We can't tell." He responded.

Aqua was walking around the clearing, describing the carnage to General Ironwood. As she stepped around the charred skeletons, she noticed something. "It looks like someone was bleeding here, but managed to crawl away." Aqua said, more to herself than Ironwood. Following the tracks, she soon came to another body, in far better shape than the others. This body was identifiably female, and looked remarkably intact compared to the others.

Standing over the body, which was face down in the snow, Aqua crouched down and pushed the body over, noting how recent she must have died in order to still be relatively flexible. Aqua nearly jumped out of her skin when the woman's eyes flew open, and her hands shot out to grab Aqua. "Help me! Get me outta here!" She screamed frantically, thrashing violently, and continuing to scream.

Aqua did her best to pry the woman's hands off her. "Everything is fine. You're safe now." She tried to say, only for her words to fall on deaf ears. "Soldiers! I need assistance." Aqua called, still trying to calm the hysterical woman, who was muttering madly to herself.

Several soldiers managed to pry the woman off Aqua, only for the woman to begin kicking and screaming again. "Let me go! We need to go! Now!" She continuously snarled. "If we don't, HE will come back!" She shouted.

Aqua just stared as the soldiers dragged her back to their camp, struggling to keep her restrained. Noises from the radio, which had fallen on the ground, drew Aqua's attention. "General," Aqua began. "I have found a survivor. I will contact you again once I have more information, and once she's calmed down." Aqua reported, switching off the radio.

Walking up to Opal, she handed him the radio, who then gave it back to the soldier he had got it from. "What now?" Opal asked, glancing in the way that the woman's cries could still be heard.

"We set up camp for the night, get this woman to the nearest town, and request Command to send a Bullhead out to retrieve her and bring her back to HQ." Aqua replied.

As the two of them walked back to their camp, both failed to notice the tiny Nevermore that was watching them from the nearest tree. Once all of the shiny, white armoured humans had left the clearing, the small shadow-bird took flight, disappearing into the darkness of the night sky.

**-Line Break-**

Perseus stood outside the town's great hall, where the faunus were hunkering in for the night. Small tufts of snowflakes fluttered to the ground, slowly building up on the ground. Looking up into the sky, he couldn't help but muse over things that he had been trying to not think about. 'What happened to this world?' He thought, not for the first time that night.

Nothing was as he remembered it, with everyone carrying some type of "gun", bandits were not only a serious problem, but could pose a major threat, and the world was dominated by the Grimm. He didn't mind the last point, given that they never bothered him, but the former two, as well as countless smaller things, bothered him.

The distant sounds of flapping caused a small smirk to break out across Perseus' face. From out of the black of the night sky, a small Nevermore entered the light. Stretching out his hand, the small bird landed in his palm, looking up at him. Perseus stared right back, causing the small creature to shiver under the pressure on its mind. It didn't take long to sort through the bird's mind, finding what he wanted before dismissing the avian Grimm. 'So, there is a small force after me. How very entertaining.' Perseus thought.

"How can you do that?" A voice said from behind him.

Turning around, Perseus wasn't surprised to see the bull-faunus looking at him. "My powers do not concern you, now leave me before I choose to not be so tolerant to your pestering, child." Perseus growled, not forgetting the countless requests to be trained.

The boy scowled. "I'm not a little kid, and you can't tell me what to do!" He shouted back, annoyed at being dismissed.

Staring down at him, Perseus did the best to make his annoyance known. "You seem to forget what happened the first time you pestered me. Do you wish for me to reiterate my stance on the matter, child?" Perseus stated, small tendrils of shadow flicking about at his feet.

"My name is Adam!" He shouted back, balling his fists. "I'm not scared of you! All I want is for you to teach me! I couldn't even protect myself from those bandits, so how on Remnant am I gonna protect anyone else?" Adam screamed, taking a step forward.

Perseus mildly noted how all the red on the boy seemed to pulse with energy. "That is not my concern." He replied simply, turning to walk away.

Adam let out a cry of frustration, charging the taller man, swinging at his head. Perseus shot his leg back, knocking Adam's away, before bringing his elbow up, creating a sharp clack when it collided with Adam's jaw.

Adam fell to the ground, gripping his aching jaw, glaring at Perseus' back, who continued to walk away. Slamming his fist on the ground, Adam got up, running at Perseus, letting out a shout of persistence. Perseus sighed upon hearing the cry, turning around and clasping his hands behind his back. Tilting his head to either side, he barely moved to avoid Adam's first two punches at his face, before stepping out of the way of a kick to his chest. Spinning to kick at Perseus once more, Adam was shocked when he saw Perseus grab his ankle, lifting him into the air with one arm. Turning around, Perseus flung the boy away, watching as he bounced across the snow-covered ground.

Growling, Adam went to stand once more, only to feel something wrapping around his limbs. A quick glance showed that Perseus had wrapped his shadows around him. Raising him up to face Perseus, Adam remained stoic. "I will not train you, Adam. If you continue to pursue this ridiculous obsession, I will not hesitate to end you. I have chosen to spare you so far only because I hoped that your naïveté would pass, and that you would stop this pursuit, and because I do not wish to jeopardize my deal with Belladonna simply over a child's stupidity." Perseus said, releasing the boy, and letting Adam fall down into the snow.

Walking off, Perseus left the faunus boy to think over his words. As Perseus walked through the village, he couldn't help but be amused. It was almost cute how these people felt that by putting up a simple wall around them that it would keep death away. Passing by a larger building, Perseus glanced into the window, seeing several town guardsmen sitting at a counter, with various others either sitting at tables, drinking or playing cards. 'The local tavern.' Perseus concluded, walking away.

He didn't make it far as three men staggered out, clearly inebriated, and bumbling around. "Hey, you! Hunter!" The largest of the three shouted, shuffling over to Perseus.

'There's that word again, "Hunter". These people seem to hold them in high regards.' Perseus thought, turning around to face the men. "Yes? What do you want?" Perseus asked, still peeved from Adam's actions.

The man had a dark smile on his face, with his two companions with similar expressions. "What are you doing out here in the wilderness, huh? And what are you doing helping those animals?" He said, jabbing a finger into Perseus' chest.

Perseus' frown deepened. "Whom I assist is not any matter to you, nor is my being out here." Perseus said, turning to leave.

He felt a hand grab his shoulder, spinning him back to face the men, who had spread out around him. "Y'know, you got a real attitude on you. How's about me and my boys change that for you?"

Perseus narrowed his eyes, ready to slice their throats with his shadows at a moment's notice. "Vincent! Hayden! York! Stand down, the lot of you!" A voice shouted, seeming to cut through the men's drunken haze. Turning around, the four men stared at the figure of Captain Decker, standing in the light of the tavern with his arms crossed. Walking towards them, Perseus straightened his cloak once the man, Vincent, let go of him, watching as the men were cowed by their captain. "You three, report back to the barracks immediately." Decker commanded.

"But sir, we were just-" Vincent tried, only to be cut off by Decker.

"Be quiet, you buffoon!" Decker snapped, causing the men to flinch. "Report back to the barracks at once, or I won't hesitate to throw you out of this town!". The men all frantically nodded their heads, running off as their officer watched them leave. Sighing, Decker turned back to Perseus, who was not fazed by what had happened. "My apologies, Hunter. I hope that they didn't cause you too much trouble?" Decker asked, relaxing slightly.

"No. I am unharmed," Perseus replied calmly. "Though, you would do well to keep your men on a short leash in the future." Perseus said.

The Captain nodded solemnly, as if he had come to expect it. "They already were. Their actions will be dealt with, I assure you." Decker replied.

The two began to walk through the streets, drawing a few interested glances, but not much else. "I am pleased to hear it. In such an environment, you cannot afford to be divided amongst yourselves." Perseus said sagely, getting a nod of agreement from Decker. The two continued to walk through the town, ignoring the strange looks they garnered. As they approached the great hall, Perseus stopped, turning to Decker. "Well, I must turn in for the night. It has been a pleasure, Captain." Perseus said, turning to leave, not waiting for a reply.

Captain Decker watched him leave, brow furrowed. "Strange." Decker said to himself, turning to continue his patrol.

As Perseus stepped toward the great hall, he paused on the porch, turning to look back up at the night sky. Whistling, it didn't take long for a baby Nevermore to answer his call, landing on his shoulder. Whispering into the creature's ear, Perseus gave it a slight nudge, watching as it took off, soaring over the village and out of sight.

Pushing open the doors to the great hall, Perseus stepped in, noting how all the faunus he had traveled with glanced toward him, slightly shifting away from him. Paying them no more mind, Perseus walked over to the corner of the hall, where the shadows were thickest. He watched as the faunus ate whatever food they had been given, mainly chicken and bread. Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply, enjoying the feeling of the shadows around him. His comfort was broken by someone clearing their throat.

Cracking open one of his eyes, he looked down to see the small form of Blake standing in front of him, a small plate of food in her hand. Blake nervously shifted her weight back and forth on her feet, not really looking him in the eye. "I, uh… I brought you something to eat." She declared, holding out the plate for him to take.

Quirking an eyebrow, he slowly took the plate so as to not scare the girl. "Thank you, Blake." He said simply, taking a bite out of the bread given to him. Blake still stood before him, still looking quite nervous. "Does something trouble you, Blake? You seem rather uneasy." Perseus asked, setting his plate on the ground.

"Well, uh…" Blake began, still refusing to make eye contact. "I kinda wanted to ask you something?" She said, glancing up at him.

Perseus sat up in his seat, looking directly at Blake. "By all means."

Blake looked even more troubled, almost as if she had been counting on him denying her request so that she wouldn't have to say anything. "It's… about the bandits." She clarified, glancing once more.

"Go on." Perseus urged, starting to grow impatient at her skirting around the topic.

"I was wondering, why did you have to hurt them so bad? Couldn't you have just warned them not to do it again?" Blake asked, finally looking Perseus in the eye.

Perseus hummed, sitting back in his corner, propping one leg on the other. "I see. And tell me, Blake. What if I had just let them off with a warning? Sure, they may not attack our group again, but what about other travellers, who aren't so fortunate to have someone there to protect them?" Perseus explained, staring at Blake, who again refused to meet his gaze.

"They wouldn't do that after you had scared them so bad!" Blake replied, sounding as though she was trying to convince herself more than Perseus.

"Hmph, you think to highly of people." Perseus said dismissively. Looking back at Perseus, Blake looked like she was going to protest before Perseus cut her off. "Words can only get you so far, Blake. At some point, force is necessary."

Perseus sat back in his seat, picking up his plate once more. "However, that is not something that one as young as yourself should be worrying about." Perseus said, gaining Blake's gaze once more. "Thank you for dinner, but you should be getting back to your parents. Goodnight, Blake." Perseus said, dismissing the girl.

Blake glanced over to where her parents were, sitting near the central fire of the room, tending to it and making sure it didn't burn out. "Um, okay." Blake said turning to leave. "Goodnig- Percy, you're bleeding!" Blake shouted, gaining the attention of some of the nearer faunus.

Perseus put his hand up to his nose, feeling the warm blood trickle down across his lips. Wiping it away with the back of his hand, he looked at the bloodied hand curiously. Blake looked worried, glancing at him and their surroundings, as if something would jump out and attack the two of them. Rubbing his nose once more to see if there was anymore blood, and finding none, Perseus looked back at Blake with a calm smile. "I am fine, Blake. Run along, now." Perseus said.

"If you say so." Blake replied, clearly concerned. "Goodnight, Percy." Blake said, running back over to her parents, who both shot a calculating stare at him, which Perseus dismissed.

The sight of Blake smiling up at her parents brought a small smile to Perseus' face. It seemed to spark memories in his mind, buried and locked away from his mind. Realizing what he was smiling at, Perseus frowned, confusion marring his face. His attention was drawn back to his hand, where his blood still glistened on the back of his hand. "Interesting." Perseus murmured, playing with the blood between his thumb and index finger, the crimson liquid staining his fingers' skin.

**Well, a little bit of a shorter one, but it's still reasonable. What do you think?**

**So, not my finest work, story wise, but I think that it is still a solid chapter. I would work on it more, but I wanted to get this done now, as school starts back up for me tomorrow. *depressed cheering ensues***

**A few interesting things still happened this chapter, though. Percy bleeding, the Specialists on his trail, and odd memories. Who knows what could be significant, and what is just mindless filler? Apart from myself, of course. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed.**

**If you did enjoy this chapter, please, follow and/or favourite this story so that you know when I update again. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to either leave a review, as it helps me understand what the readers are thinking, or PM me. I will respond to all PMs in due time.**

**That's all for now. This is Canadian Admiral signing off.**


	5. Chapter 5

**So, I apologize for the absurd length between chapters, but I wasn't expecting university to be this strenuous. Not really sure what I was expecting, but hey, I'm here now.**

**One thing that I wanted to address, seeing as it has been brought up a few times in reviews, and I wanted to state this now. I have received a few reviews basically stating/asking if, and why, I have essentially made Perseus have very little in common with Percy. "Perseus just seems to be an OC that you slapped the name of Perseus on, and called it a crossover" is basically the issue. Now, you are kinda right, seeing as how he acts nothing like Percy, and there hasn't been much/any relation to the PJO Universe, but there is a distinct reason. When I first was planning this story out, I originally had it so that the first 1-3 chapters were setting up the connection, and explaining much of the plot, similar to the beginning of Remnants of the Sea. However, I remembered some advice that I was given halfway through writing that, that I should have revealed the twist as I go, and not all at the start. **

**So, essentially, I had it so the connection and explanation for Perseus' actions/personality were written into the start, but I chose to cut it so that it would give a plot twist at some point. And so, by cutting the explanation, it also effected the rest of the story, and caused some confusion. **

**This explanation isn't meant to incite hate or discontent towards those reviewers, as I appreciate their concern with the story. Most said that they were just confused as to why it was a crossover, but still liked the story. So, there is a reason as to why Perseus is like the way he is, and what the connection between PJO and RWBY is. We just haven't gotten there yet.**

**Well, with that out of the way, let's move on to the main entertainment. **

**Please enjoy Chapter 5 of Shadow of Beacon!**

"**Percy" means speech**

'**Jackson' means thought**

_***RWBY* **_**means telepathy/flashback**

Perseus felt the snow hitting his face as it fell from the sky, melting on contact. However, his attention was focused on the sight before him. Rising into the air, were metal walls, small pods with guns protruding from them spread across the wall, slowly following their group as they all approached.

There were also multiple figures atop the wall, aiming their guns at them. It was strange, Perseus couldn't sense much, if anything, from most of them, despite appearing alive. He would have to get a closer look at one. A hand fell on his shoulder, and Perseus had to fight not to retaliate, if only by instinct alone. Turning to face the only one bold enough to touch him, Percy stared at Ghira.

"What is it?" Perseus asked impatiently.

Ghira looked even more nervous than when they had entered the village the previous night. "Perseus, I just felt that it would be best if I warn you now." Ghira said, glancing at the guards watching them approach a small checkpoint in the wall, heavily defended by men armed with guns, and the gun-pods.

"Warn me of what, Ghira?" Perseus growled, his eyes seeming to flash dangerously.

Ghira swallowed nervously, but stood up straight, putting on a faux mask of confidence against the intimidating man before him. "It's how things work here in the city." Ghira explained, the two of them continuing to walk towards the checkpoint. "Out in the wilds, or in the small villages, you might be able to get around off of reputation or titles, but here in Mantle, you can't just do as you please. There are rules, specifically to keep the peace." Ghira continued, with Perseus only half-listening.

Scoffing, Perseus rolled his eyes. "I know how laws and rules work, Belladonna. Do not confused me with the lawless bandits we encountered." Perseus stated, shrugging off the warning. At the pointed stare he was receiving from Ghira, Perseus sighed. "As long as no one attempts to start a confrontation with myself, then I will not attack anyone." Perseus assured.

Ghira let out a breath he didn't know that he was holding. "Good." Ghira said, nodding slightly to himself. "Oh, and just one more thing." Ghira said, causing Perseus to look in his direction once more, though much more annoyed by the faunus man. "Under no circumstances, _especially _when in public, I don't want you to use your Semblance, or make any Grimm appear."

Perseus stopped, staring at Ghira. "And why is that?" Perseus asked, more curious than angered.

"Well," Ghira began. "We may know that you can control them, but the people here won't and I don't want people to begin panicking due to Grimm in the city. It could also lead to further… complications." Ghira explained, eyes snapping to the guards at the checkpoint for a moment.

Perseus scoffed, but otherwise relented. "I will do what I must, but know that I cannot be held responsible for everything." Perseus warned, walking off.

The process of getting through to the city was a fairly simple, if time consuming, task. Ghira and Kali dealt with the most of it, with Perseus simply standing near the edge of the group, trying not to be drawn into a conversation with the guards, who seemed curious of him, and his attire. He would need a spare set of clothes soon, if only to not be bothered in the future.

He was already drawing the attention of the citizens in the city. The more flirtatious looking females were eyeing him up, and some of the homeless people were sizing him up, considering if they could mug him for anything valuable. Ignoring their stares, Perseus simply walked along with the rest of the group. His eyes were drawn to all of the strange contraptions and devices in the hands of the citizens walking about.

As a man in a suit passed by, he slammed into Perseus, dropping his device he had been holding to the ground. "Watch it, pal!" The man shouted, trying to give Perseus a shove, before moving to pick his device. Plucking up his device, he brushed it off, looking it over for any damage. Finding none, he turned back to an annoyed Perseus, who was trying not to retaliate against the disrespectful man. "You are lucky that my new Scroll wasn't damaged at all, or else-"

"Or else what?" Perseus interrupted, grabbing the man by his tie, and pulling him close. Perseus loomed over the, now terrified, man. The man's knees began to shake as he stared into Perseus' eyes.

"N-nothing. Sorry!" The man stumbled as Perseus let him go, pushing him back slightly, nearly falling over.

Perseus watched with a small hint of satisfaction as he ran off, smirking as he fell over once before rushing away, and out of sight. Catching a small glare from Ghira, Perseus merely shrugged before walking along.

Blake's eyes were filled with wonder and astonishment. Her attention was drawn to all of the new things, having not seen such advanced technology from where her parents took her to protest. "Mom! Dad! Look at all the sweets!" Blake cheered, pointing at a small candy shop, with many different coloured treats in the window.

Kali smiled at her daughter, walking over to ruffle her hair. "Come along, sweetie. Maybe we can come back for some later, okay?" Kali said, gently pulling Blake along as the young girl looked longingly at the candy.

Blake looked down, disappointed at not being able to have any treats for a while longer. "Okay." Blake mumbled, walking along obediently.

Perseus turned his attention back to Ghira, who seemed to be leading the group through the streets. Catching up to the burly faunus, Perseus kept stride with the large man. "Where are we heading, Ghira?" Perseus stated, sounding slightly suspicious of both Ghira and their new surroundings.

Ghira glanced at him for a second, only taking a moment to recognize Perseus' cautious tone. "I'm taking everyone to the White Fang headquarters that are set up here." Ghira said, looking back at the procession of faunus following the two. "There we will have room to house and feed them until we can head to the capital."

"And how long will that be?" Perseus asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Not long, I assure you." Ghira said, smiling slightly in reassurance. As the group made its way across the busy street, with dozens upon dozens of cars bustling by, and into the more industrial area of the city, they soon came to a medium sized office building. "Ah, here we are." Ghira stated tiredly.

As everyone was ushered inside, Perseus stayed outside, looking up into the sky as a large metal object roared overhead. Squinting to block out the glare of the sun reflecting off its white surface, Perseus couldn't help but be astonished by what he saw. Ghira stepped out of the building, looking at what had seemingly caught Perseus attention so suddenly.

Moving across the sky above them, an SDC Bullhead flew by, engines roaring proudly. The Schnee Snowflake brought a frown to Ghira's face, a product of years of protest and struggle. As uncomfortable as Ghira was at seeing the SDC aircraft, being that he still didn't know if they had been pursued or not, he didn't understand why it had captivated Perseus. Surely a Huntsman of his caliber had encountered them countless times before, right?

"Is something the matter, Perseus?" Ghira asked, staying a foot back.

Though he didn't show any outward reaction, Perseus mentally snapped back to reality. Turning around, Perseus briefly met Ghira's confused stare. "No. Nothing." Perseus simply said, walking away, heading into the White Fang building.

As he held the door open, walking into the building, something faintly tingled in the back of his mind. Pausing for a moment, Perseus looked over his shoulder, glancing back out at the city that confounded him so much. "Nothing at all." Perseus said quietly, all the while, his mind working to remember where he recognized the presence of intense power from, coming from someone deep in the city.

**-Time Skip-**

Perseus sat in one of the offices of the building, avoiding the looks of the many faunus in the building. Some stole frightened glances at him, terrified of what he had done to the bandits, and some, mainly the White Fang workers who had been operating in the building before they came, stared curiously at him, hearing what the refugees had told of their journey. After two days staying in this place, Perseus was about ready to snap.

The presence had been worming around in the back of his mind since he had come to this forsaken city. The longer that Perseus stayed, the more confused he would become, and he _hated_ being confused.

Nothing made any sense! There were great metal vehicles that could fly through the air even faster than the quickest of Nevermore, and the dozens of gadgets that everyone seemed to carry! According to Blake, who had been curious as to his lack of knowledge about the devices, had explained that they were called "scrolls", and that they could be used to talk with people over great distances, even across different continents!

Perseus was beginning to grow irritable. It also didn't help that, after arriving in this place, they had done absolutely nothing, apart from a small scuffle with some faunus-hating drunks stumbling into the building late at night. Sadly, Perseus wasn't able to deal with them, as Ghira had a few of his men escort them out before Perseus could intervene. A shame, it would have been rather fun.

A slight headache began to pound at the back of Perseus' skull, a reminder to the feeling of power somewhere in the city. Growling slightly, Perseus massaged a fist against the side of his head.

An excited knocking on the door to his room drew his attention. Before he could even get up to answer it, the door swung open, revealing an elated Blake, grinning madly. Sitting up slightly in his chair, Perseus looked at the girl, a small amount of confusion in his face. "Hey, Percy!" Blake cheered, running over to him. Grabbing him by the arm, she attempted to pull him out of the room, only succeeding in moving his arm slightly. "Come on! Mom and I are going to the candy shop, and I want you to come with!" Blake said, pulling as hard as her small frame could muster.

Perseus rolled his eyes at the childish innocence, a small smile briefly flashing across his face. "Alright, Blake. Alright." Perseus said, standing up. He was almost glad she had come; he would take anything to distract him right now, and he _needed_ to get out of this building. Perhaps a trip into the city would allow him the relief to finally process where he recognized this feeling.

As the two of them headed out into the hall, with Blake still leading him around by his arm, he could see a nervous and embarrassed Kali ahead of them, looking rather sheepish at her daughter's actions. Several nearby faunus also gave a small chuckle at the sight; Perseus, the deadly Huntsman who had brutalized so many bandits without trouble, was being led around by a small girl, as if she had pacified him.

When the two of them had come to stand beside Kali, with Blake bouncing on the balls of her feet, still holding onto Perseus's hand, the young girl looked up at her mother. "Can we go now, mom?" She asked excitedly, practically vibrating with energy.

"Yes, sweetie. We can." Kali said, holding out her hand. Blake happily took it, still holding onto Perseus, before trying to pull them both along. As they made their way out the door, passed a bemused Ghira, Kali shot Perseus an apologetic look. Perseus merely shrugged, not minding the trip.

Managing to free his hand from Blake halfway to the store, Perseus walked behind the two Belladonnas, content to simply look around. Not even the buildings looked like they used to. In fact, almost nothing looked anything like what he remembered things looking like since he had awoken. The buildings were made of concrete and steel, with the sides covered in windows, lights shining brighter than any flame could from inside.

And not just the buildings, but the pathways and the roads. When their group had been nearing the city, the roads had turned from dirt, to cobblestone, to a flat, dark, rock-like substance. In the city itself, post would rise over the intersections of the roads, shining multiple colours, and nothing that seemingly controlling it.

Passing by a small shop, Perseus' attention was immediately drawn to a small metal box in the display. The box was sleek and black, with a glass pane in the centre. The one right beside it was slightly different, but with pictures not only flashing across the glass, but moving fluidly, looking almost lifelike in its depiction.

"Percy? What are you doing? Come on, the shop is this way!" Blake shouted ahead of the two adults.

Perseus barely registered her voice, instead choosing to analyze every inch of the device behind the pane of glass. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. The only thing that came anywhere _close_ to what he was looking at now, were small puppet booths. However, this was nothing like those booths that he would pass by on the streets. The thought of walking down streets, amongst the common folk, only caused the throbbing at the back of his skull to become a pointed jab, causing Perseus to growl slightly in uncomfortable pain.

"Perseus? Are you alright?" Kali asked, placing her hand on Perseus' shoulder.

Perseus looked down at her, the large difference in height rather apparent now that they were standing side by side. Kali looked at him with a worry that only a mother could have. "M'fine." Perseus said, pulling back before moving to follow the anxiously bouncing Blake.

Kali stayed in place for several seconds, only following at the behest of her excited daughter. The trio managed to make their way to the candy store, though with an underlining feeling of worry from Kali, and with Perseus in a decidedly more annoyed mood.

Following the females into the colourful shop, Perseus was confounded by the dozens of different candies lining the shelves and racks. Multicoloured balls were held in tubes, white canes with red stripes, various small bright bits of what Perseus could only assume to be sugar, and countless other things that Perseus couldn't even hope to identify.

Blake, on the other hand, seemed to know almost every single piece of sweets, and was rushing around the store as fast as her little legs could in order to see everything at once. The older man behind the counter simply smiled at the two of them, chuckling as a few other small kids ran around, watching them fondly.

"She certainly can be a handful." Kali said to Perseus, smiling as she watched Blake try to decide what she wanted, debating between several types of candy. "I'm actually surprised at how fond she has become of you, Perseus. She is usually much more guarded around people." Kali continued, looking over at Perseus, who was massaging his forehead. Frowning in worry, she placed her hand on his back. "You didn't have to come with us if you weren't feeling well, Perseus." Kali said, smiling slightly. "Despite what my husband may think, I don't need someone looking after me _all_ the time." Kali chuckled lightly, her smile soon dying at Perseus' grimace.

Perseus' mind was in a blur. The feeling of power was getting stronger, which could only mean that whatever it was was getting closer. His headache, which had become a full blown migraine at this point, wasn't helped by all the loud noises, bright colours, and flashing lights in the store. "I think that I need a moment outside." Perseus managed to get out, quickly making his way to the door, with Kali watching him as he left.

Images flashed across his mind. Pictures of people, their attire much different than the ones that walked around now. The soldiers that he had passed, as well as the security he had slaughtered when he had awoke, were much to different than the ones he had seen in his great home. And with each image that he saw, a spike of pain, stabbing into the back of his mind. Each second only seemed to get worse, his vision beginning to blur slightly.

Managing to make his way to a nearby alley, he slammed his fist into the side of the wall, feeling the stone be reduced to rubble as a result of his punch. The momentary pain in his hand briefly cleared his mind, relieving the migraine if only for a second, just enough to clear his vision. Staring out of the alley, Perseus' attention was drawn to a woman, making her way down the street towards him.

As his gaze fell on her, his headache returned immediately, only hurting more the longer he stared at her. She walked, a staff in hand, which she used as a walking stick. Her hair was grey, a result of her older age, and it seemed to glint a silver-blue in the afternoon sun. Her coat was long, and appeared to have been damaged recently, as the arms had been torn, and the whole coat was singed.

The staff she carried was made out of a dark-blue tinted metal, a small dagger-like point at the top. At her side was a brown leather satchel, seemingly empty due to how it flopped about. Though she seemed in her later years, she still stood tall, reaching up to about six feet tall.

Stopping for in her tracks, standing just outside a store with a logo of a man cutting a Beowolf in half. Scanning the street around her, her eyes eventually met Perseus' gaze. The two of them stared at one another, neither moving, except for Perseus' pained twitches. Narrowing her eyes, the woman simply turned about, walking into the building before her.

As soon as she was out of sight, the migraine lessened, though didn't fade entirely. 'Who is she?' Perseus thought to himself. She was obviously the cause of his predicament, whether she was doing so intentionally or not. Looking around one last time, Perseus walked across the street, managing to push the pain out of his thoughts for the time being.

Opening the door to the store that the woman had entered, he scanned around. Racks of clothes, gloves, and even some boots on the back wall filled the store. The side of the store was covered in various small gears, pipes, and other metal pieces that Perseus didn't understand.

"Welcome to the Huntsman Emporium, home to all your monster-slaying needs." A man behind the counter said, his tone bored and tired, clearly only saying the slogan due to the want to keep his job. "Is there anything that I can help you with today, sir?" He droned, his head propped up by his hand, which rested on the countertop.

Not seeing the woman in the store, Perseus stormed up to the counter. Grabbing the man by his shirt, he hauled him over the counter, the man yelping in fear. "A woman just walked in here," Perseus growled, the pain only flailing his temper. "Where did she go?". The man shakily pointed to a doorway near the back wall. Dropping the man, letting the nervous man to the ground, Perseus quickly made his way to the doorway the man had pointed to, a small curtain draped across in place of a door.

Walking through, Perseus looked around this new room. Several large anvils and metal tables filled the room. Hammers, wrenches, pliers, and a multitude of tools which Perseus couldn't even begin to comprehend their purpose, covered the walls. Two people working at different tables briefly glanced up at him before going back to their work.

Perseus wasn't concerned with them in the slightest, however. His gaze was locked solely on the woman, beginning to set up her workspace on a corner table, her staff laid out on the table. Marching over to her station, Perseus reached out, about to grab her shoulder, only to halt when she spoke.

"Doing anything in a place such as this would not be the wisest thing to do." The woman said, not even stopping to face him.

Perseus, angered by her remark, forcefully spun her around, holding her by her shoulders so that she was forced to look at him. "Who are you?" Perseus said, his eyes pulsing dangerously.

The woman wasn't fazed in the slightest, her expression clearly showing her discontent with his actions. "Who I am doesn't matter, and if you don't let go of me, I will have no choice but to _make_ you." She replied coolly. The temperature of the room seemed to drop sharply, with Perseus not giving it a second thought.

Narrowing his eyes at the dismissal by the woman, Perseus used a small tendril of shadow to snake around the woman's wrist, holding it in place. The woman's eyes briefly widened, before they narrowed into a scowl. Reaching up, Perseus grabbed the woman by the throat, squeezing slightly. "If you don't tell me who you are right now, I will not hesitate to remove your head from the rest of your body." Perseus said darkly.

At hearing his words, as well as his actions, the two other people in the room grabbed what they were working on, a sword and a bow, respectively. Perseus gave no thought to them. 'They won't be able to do anything to me." Perseus thought. Squeezing her throat tighter, Perseus glared down at the woman. "I'm running out of patience." Perseus said.

"What do you think you're doing?" One of the people asked, pressing their blade against his back, in a vain attempt to get Perseus to put the woman down. The one wielding the bow stood back a few feet, ready to fire an arrow at a moment's notice.

Perseus merely gave them a sidelong glance before turning back to stare the woman down. "This doesn't concern you. Leave, or you will join her." Perseus declared, analyzing the face of the woman, trying to place whether or not he recognized her.

"That's not happening, pal." The man said, pressing his blade into Perseus' back, slightly cutting his robe. "Put the lady down, or we'll-" Shadows shot from the corners of the room, wrapping themselves around the wrist and arm of the man, pulling the blade away from Perseus. "What the hell is this?" The man exclaimed, trying to pull the tendril off his struggling arm, only for another tendril to snatch his appendage away.

Letting the arrow she had nocked loose, the archer could only blink in fear and amazement as a tendril simply grabbed the projectile out of the air, as if it were just swatting a fly. The tendril then lashed out, wrapping around the metal bowstring, and then looping around her neck.

Turning the woman so that she could clearly see the two people, Perseus squeezed even tighter. "Tell me who you are _now_, or else I will force you to watch them die." Perseus said, his migraine exasperated by the close proximity, as well as his usage of his powers.

The woman merely let out a strangled sigh. "So be it."

With a small flick of her wrist, the tendrils holding her, and the other two, frosted over, shattering with ease. Shocked by the sudden surge of power, Perseus couldn't react in time to block the the woman when she snatched up her staff, and stabbed him in the stomach, his Aura pulsing darkly. Spinning it in place, the shaft of her staff slammed up into his jaw, rattling his teeth, and sending him to the ground.

"Go and get the police. I'll have him ready for arrest by the time you get back." The woman said, smiling slightly at the younger Hunters. Nodding their heads, the two sprinted out of the room, leaving behind the two. "So, what's up with you? Too much to drink?" The woman asked, slowly twirling her staff.

Perseus blinked several times from his spot on the floor. Massaging his jaw, he felt it lightly click back into place. Wiping his mouth, he saw his blood, glistening on his hand. Slowly climbing to his feet, not even bothering to look at her now, he began to let out a dark, low chuckle.

His laughing seemed to unnerve the woman, who held her weapon in a defensive stance, ready to act, should Perseus attack her. "What's so funny?" She snapped, slightly angered at his seeming amusement of her, only causing him to chuckle all the harder. Pointing her staff at him, she narrowed her eyes. "Don't think you can get out of this. Not after you tried to kill three Huntsman." She declared, scowling at his chuckles.

"Huntsman? Pah, I don't care for them." Perseus said, standing to his full height, looming over the woman. Stretching his back, with several cracks being heard, Perseus rolled his shoulders, smiling, a small touch of sadism glooming his features.

The lights flickered, causing the woman to briefly glance around, though keeping an eye on the mysterious man before her. The shadows seemed to flake off the walls, fluttering through the air, before collecting at his feet. "It's been so long since I've met anyone who could get a hit in on me." Perseus said, a creepily calm smile gracing him. "Ah, this is going to be _so_ much fun!"

**And, scene!**

**So, what did you think? I know that it isn't much, but it was just something that I cranked out in between school and sleep. Sorry if not much actually happened, but hey, at least I got something out?**

**I just watched the RWBY Volume 7 trailer, and ooo boy, does it look good! I am super excited for what is in store! I loved most of Volume 6 (Except Act 3 of the season), and this looks pretty intense. I love/hate those weird centipede things! I think they are really cool, but at the same time, I am not the biggest fan of the thought of giant insects trying to kill me. *shudder* Anyway, just thought I would share some brief thoughts on it. **

**As always, if you have enjoyed this chapter, consider following/favouriting the story so that you know when I update again, whenever that may be. If you had any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to leave a review, or send me a PM. I will respond to all PMs in time, and appreciate all feedback.**

**With that said, this is Canadian Admiral signing off.**


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